Masquerade
by fairytaleprincess03
Summary: What if the background check RangeMan did on Stephanie when she first began working there didn't show what her real background was? Will Ranger and the Merry Men still want her around?
1. Prologue

**AN: Okay, I admit. I couldn't stay away. I had a thought playing around my head over and over so I thought I'd go ahead and explore it and see where we end up :-) Hope you all enjoy this. **

Masquerade – Prologue

_Tank sat in his office staring at the paperwork with a look that could make a man wet his pants. Of course, paper couldn't wet itself, so all he could do was glare at it and wonder briefly if he would get away with lighting it all on fire. He sighed as he finally began working on the offending object. In the back of his mind it occurred to him that Ranger must accept missions when he decides to get away from doing the paperwork himself._

_ A thought occurred to him. Perhaps if things were too busy in the field, when Ranger came back he'd be office bound with paperwork. The pleasantness of that feeling died quickly when his office phone rang._

_ "Talk."_

_ "Tank, we've got a problem." Hal's voice was perturbed._

_ "Where?"_

_ "Hallway on four." He replied._

_ Disconnecting, Tank turned to his computer and accessed the monitors to the fourth floor. He watched the scene unfolding in front of him. Stephanie was in the hall with the other woman and they were arguing. He turned up the volume to hear the conversation._

_ "You shouldn't even be here!" Stephanie growled. "You need to leave."_

_ "I'm not going anywhere. You don't scare me!" _

_ In a quick series of moves that Tank knew for a fact they had never taught Stephanie, she had the woman pinned against the wall. Stephanie's voice was low when she began speaking again, but Tank could hear everything she said. "You really need to ask yourself if this smart, Lil."_

_ "Maybe you should be asking that." Lil gasped out. "Kill me and you're fucked."_

_ "What's going on?" Stephanie's voice was one of command, something Tank had never heard from her before. It was something he had heard from his CO's in the army, from Ranger, but never from Stephanie. In fascination he continued to watch the scene unfold before him._

_ "Why do you care? You get to go around pretending to exist while the rest of help keep you alive. You've got RangeMan protecting you while their leader is off being world hero." Lil tried to push against Stephanie only to find herself pressed harder into the wall. "What would your precious Carlos say if he knew that you don't actually need protection? Hm?"_

_ "Back off, Liliana!" Stephanie snarled. "Either tell me what's going on or get out of Trenton."_

_ "Can't." She replied. "Damn it, Plum! Let me go. I'll talk."_

_ Interesting, Tank thought as Stephanie released her. Liliana turned. Rubbing at various parts of her body to make sure she was completely intact, she continued speaking to Stephanie. "You're the one who wants to pretend nothing happened. They gave you that. You fulfilled your end of the bargain. They're keeping their word. Unusual, but they're doing it."_

_ "Then why are you here?" Stephanie demanded._

_ "Maybe I missed you." Liliana smiled. "The boys are…well, they're boys."_

_ Tank could see Stephanie rolling her eyes from his seat. "Of course they're boys, and I hardly think you missed me."_

_ "I did." Liliana said emphatically. "Nothing's been the same since you left. They bring in others, but none as good as you. And anyway, it was a universally agreed that I come here."_

_ "By who?"_

_ "Everyone."_

_ "Why?" Stephanie looked ready to strangle someone._

_ "You wanted this world of make-believe, Steph. We're making sure you get to keep it." Liliana said stepping a few feet away from her. "I don't see why you hide it though. You really think Ranger or any of his men will judge you for it?"_

_ Stephanie glared at her. "It's not for them to decide what they know about me."_

_ She shrugged. "Maybe not, but something tells me, we're all going to be on the same page soon. Then what are you going to do?"_

_ "What do you know that you're not sharing?" Stephanie took a dangerous step forward causing Liliana to raise her hands in a surrendering gesture._

_ "I don't know anything. Trust me. You'll be the first to know if I do. I'm not stupid."_

_ "It wouldn't be a good idea for you to consider thinking otherwise, Lil." Stephanie said firmly._

_ Liliana leaned against the wall and looked back at Stephanie. "Believe me, Steph. I've worked with both you and Ranger. I know full well which one of you is the deadliest. Pissing you off is not on my list of life goals."_

_ Tank watched as Liliana walked away from the Stephanie. He watched as his favorite Bomber looked up and gave an "oh shit" look toward the camera realizing she had just given a vital part of something away. Something she had clearly been trying to keep hidden for some time._

_ Picking up his phone he dialed Stephanie's number, barking out, "My office," when she answered. It was time to see what Stephanie Plum was hiding from everyone._

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! Promise!<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

**For those I wasn't able to send a PM to, thank you for the review! :-) You made my day!**

**Don't own them, just playing!**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 1**

Feather light kisses were placed along her bare neck and shoulders. She hummed softly as the kisses trailed farther down. Hands slid under her stomach and in the same direction as the delicious lips that had tortured her for hours into the night.

"Babe," A husky voice filled her ear.

"Mmm?" She sighed and pressed back against him, feeling which part of him was completely awake this morning.

"Time to get up."

"For what?" Stephanie yawned, keeping her eyes closed tightly.

"To go work out." He nibbled delicately on the shell of her ear.

"I worked out all night." She replied, snuggling farther into him. "You made sure of that."

His hands found their destination and Ranger made sure Stephanie got another work out that morning.

By the time they finally allowed each other up for the day, Stephanie was grinning stupidly at herself in the mirror while Ranger showered. She had attempted to join him with the attitude that conserving water was in the best interest of the environment, but he exhibited self- control by reminding her about all the meetings he had and the skips she had to go after today.

"Something's burning, Babe." Ranger called from the shower, with a satisfied smirk that no one could see.

"What was it you said about taking things slow?" She said with a laugh while washing her face.

Things had heated up pretty quickly between them after Stephanie and Joe ended things for good. Instead of the usual Italian screaming match that everyone had grown accustomed to hearing from them, they had sat down and had a long talk. Stephanie had known for some time things were going to go nowhere with Joe. After their discussion he realized it as well. They were doing well as friends and Joe was dating a teacher at the junior high.

The night after they ended things, Ranger had come home from a mission. He had been gone for six months and Stephanie had felt the loss of his presence more acutely than anything she had ever felt before. It was one of the many things that told her she and Joe would never work. When Joe went undercover she missed him, but she didn't feel off balance the way she did when Ranger was gone.

Having done his usual ritual of sneaking into her apartment when he thought she was asleep, he had come into her room to find her on her knees on her bed, wearing nothing but one of his black shirts. He had stopped at the door and stared at her. Smiling softly at him she had held out her arms and whispered, "Welcome home, Batman."

Both reflected on that night. It had been the catalyst for the turn in their relationship. His mission had been hard and brutal, as many before had been, but this one had been much worse. His mental and emotional reserves had felt depleted. Walking into see her waiting with open arms had been more soothing than anything in the world. He had spent the night being held by her for once. When he'd finally woken, almost two days had passed and Stephanie had stayed with him the entire time, holding him. She never asked what happened, and knew that he wouldn't be able to tell her. Instead when he'd woken, she'd kissed him and told him she was taking him to dinner.

The sudden assertiveness she showed turned him on and curious to see where she was going with this, he agreed. He'd gone back to RangeMan to let shower and change. He knew Tank would still handle things while he was with Stephanie. Having stopped by the control room he found out from Hal that Stephanie had been working there regularly helping with searches when she was finished with her skips for the day. Apparently Tank had talked to her and she finally agreed to self- defense training. Ranger's curiosity had been even more provoked and he couldn't wait to see what their dinner brought to him.

Stephanie had arrived at RangeMan wearing a flirty forest green dress. Teasingly, she had taken Ranger's keys made him the passenger of his own car. She drove them out of Trenton to Newark where they had dinner at a fancy restaurant.

It had been a magnificent evening, Ranger thought smugly. He had learned that Stephanie was being more practical when it came to her skips. She was beginning to carry her gun with her, she even had it registered to make sure she didn't get arrested. She was doing brilliantly with the searches RangeMan needed help wit. She was earning every bit of her money and she seemed mostly happy. During the meal he had hesitantly asked about Joe. It had been a huge weight off his shoulders when she told him they were over. Stephanie told him she loved him and knew how he felt about relationships but was willing to take what she could from him.

He surprised both of them by saying he wanted one with her. They both knew it was going to be difficult, but because her lifestyle was similar to his (without the government missions of course) they believed they could make things work. Ranger gave her another surprise when he told her he wanted to take it slow. He knew he loved her more than life itself, but given their past, he wanted them to get to know one another better. Or rather, give Stephanie a chance to see the man he was.

That had been three months ago. The sexual attraction was always there, simmering dangerously beneath the surface waiting for the moment one of their resolves weakened enough to take control. Much to the frustration of both, they had managed to last up until a couple weeks ago. After a long distraction night, Ranger had been so wound up by Stephanie's outfit he had nearly taken her on the hood of the Turbo. Instead, he'd managed to get them back to his apartment and spent the better part of the night making love to her.

"Babe." He said finally, shutting the shower off. Grabbing a towel he wrapped it around his waist and came to stand behind her. She stared at his naked chest with obvious appreciation before meeting his eyes. "We spent three months taking it slow."

"I would have been happy to have my wicked way with you the first night, Carlos." Stephanie smiled up at him and leaned back against him.

He smiled and kissed her neck. "You deserved a chance to get to know the man I am, Babe. Not just the sexual side."

"There's more than a sexual side?" She feigned a look of shock. He growled and tickled her. She danced out of his grip, laughing.

"I know all your secrets, Steph." He said catching her around the waist and kissing her. "You should know mine, at least what I can share." He released her and walked out of the bathroom and to his closet. He turned briefly and saw her leaning against the doorframe giving him an intense look. "Babe?"

She blinked and snapped out of her reverie. "Sorry. Lost in thought."

"Care to share?"

"Hm…I'm wondering what the secret is to ruining your temple." She teased. The wolf grin he gave told her the answer. "Good to know, Batman. Good to know."

Once they had both finished dressing, they went to the elevator. Ranger had client meetings this morning and would be helping out in the field later. Stephanie was going to spend her morning getting skips and after lunch she would be back at RangeMan helping with searches.

"Dinner tonight?" She asked as the doors opened on five.

"Yes." He kissed her. "I have an idea I want to talk to you about tonight."

"Sounds good." Stephanie smiled at him. "Don't get shot."

"Don't go too crazy." He replied.

When the doors closed her smile faded as she thought of his comment up in the apartment. _"I know all your secrets._" No, she thought. You know none of my secrets, but it's better this way, she surmised. This way _he _wouldn't risk getting hurt because of her. It was bad enough that he had been hurt on occasion helping her with a skip, but in the bigger scope of things, those injuries were minor compared to ones that could be caused.

Stephanie was lost in thought as she drove on autopilot to Vinnie's. She kept thinking over and over about what Ranger said. She went in and grabbed her files, not bothering to stay and chat today. She excused herself explaining she had a busy day but she would stick around next time.

She didn't have many skips this morning and it didn't take long to find them all. While delivering the last one to the cops, she ran into Joe.

"Hi, Cupcake." He said sauntering over to her.

"Joe. How goes it?" She asked absently.

"Good. You're doing a lot better at this gig." He motioned to the skip who was glaring daggers at both of them. "Glad Manoso talked you into some training."

"Joe," Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Tank talked me into it while Ranger was gone. You know that."

"Right." He shook his head. "It's good to see you though. You're looking a lot happier."

She smiled at him. "I am lot happier, thanks. How are you and Sarah doing?"

"Good, good." Joe scratched the back of his neck. "She's making dinner tonight."

"I'm happy for you." Stephanie replied and deep down she was. Joe deserved someone who could give him what she couldn't.

"Thanks. Well, I'll see you." He gave a her a friendly hug and continued on his way.

Stephanie headed back to Vinnie's and got her checks. Briefly she thought about stopping at Pino's for lunch and taking something back to the men at RangeMan, but changed her mind and headed to her parents. Hopefully they wouldn't mind if she stopped in.

When she arrived she found her father making a sandwich for himself in the kitchen.

"Hi, Daddy." She greeted.

"Pumpkin, what brings you here?" He asked pulling the bread back out and making her a sandwich.

"I was going to join you for lunch, but I see Mom is missing." Stephanie said looking around for her.

"She and your grandmother took Valerie out for lunch and are taking her to the beauty parlor. Apparently Kloughn is driving her crazy." Frank rolled his eyes as he handed her the sandwich. For several moments they ate in silence. He eyed her. There was something off about her today. He recognized the look in her eyes, though he hadn't seen it in nearly five years.

Instead of coming right and asking what was bothering her, he took a different tact. "You and Carlos seem to be doing really well."

"We are." Stephanie smiled at him. Frank had barely tolerated Joe but seemed to genuinely be fond of Ranger. After they began dating, Stephanie brought him for dinner one night and Frank had actually joined the conversation by talking to Ranger about the Army. Stephanie had been aware that Frank had been in the armed forces when he was younger, but hearing about him talk about some of his time was fascinating.

"You two still trying to take it slow?"

"He wants me to learn about the secrets he can share." She whispered.

_Aha, _Frank thought, _and there it is. _"Pumpkin, I've talked to some of my old Army mates who made themselves lifers. They have nothing but the utmost respect for Ranger. He did a lot to serve his country and it seems to me that if anyone can keep a secret, he can."

"It isn't that I don't trust _him_." Stephanie met her father's eyes.

Reaching over he patted her arm comfortingly. "I know. Just think about it. It could do you a world of good."

"We'll see." Stephanie stood and looked at Frank for a long moment, then hugged him suddenly. "Thanks, Daddy."

By the time she arrived back at RangeMan, she had put the Ranger's comment to the back of her mind. Right now she had a job to do and she was going to do it with the utmost efficiency. She couldn't risk anything less.

So she spent the rest of her afternoon doing searches and helping in the control room when Cal needed the help. She joked with the men and when it was time to end for the evening she headed up to seven to meet Ranger for dinner. No doubt she would spend the night. A silly grin came to her face. Having gone past the point where taking it slow was an option she wondered where they would go from there. She couldn't see either of them sleeping alone any time soon—at least not willingly.

"Carlos?" Stephanie called walking into the apartment. She took her gun off and set it next to the dish holding his keys.

"Babe." He replied from the kitchen. Ella had already been in and left them a delicious meal. Stephanie admittedly could handle eating healthy so long as she couldn't tell it was healthy. Ella perfected that brilliantly.

"How were your meetings?" She asked.

"Good. We've signed contracts. Hector will be taking a couple of the men out in the morning to get installations done." He told her as they went to the table. "We've got a couple things to talk about, Babe." She nodded and waited for him to continue. "I'd like you to consider coming to a few of the client meetings. You've got the degree in business and I want to utilize that. There are some clients that are female business owners."

She shot him a puzzled look then grinned. "Let me guess, they're drooling and you can't get them to focus."

"Basically." He admitted. In a different time, he might have been willing to use that to his advantage, but Stephanie had effectively made it impossible for him to think of any other woman but her.

"Alright. I can help with that." She nodded. Woman to woman would be easy. They knew how to relate to one another. "Would it be all the time?"

Ranger shook his head. "No, I wouldn't do that to you. You'll still have plenty of time in the field."

"Okay. Now, what's the other thing?"

"I've hired another woman to come work for me." He said.

Stephanie raised her eyebrows. "Another woman?"

"Babe, it's nothing to do with your abilities." Ranger told her. "I've worked with her when I was in the army and occasionally on a few missions. She's getting to the point where she wants to have a steadier life style. Her time with the government isn't finished, but I told her she can work here with a leave of absence should she get a call. I think you two would get along well."

"Well, it is your company." She said evenly. Inside, she was thinking of all the different ways to conveniently destroy the mystery woman and have her never found. Quickly she shook herself of those thoughts. Going down that route was a dangerous road to travel and she would take all the detours around it she could.

"Babe." Ranger looked at her.

"I trust you, Carlos." Stephanie smiled. "I promise, and if you think she'll be an asset, then I will take your word for it."

"She'll be here in the morning. You can meet her in the morning meeting." Ranger told her.

Stephanie nodded. "Okay." The rest of the meal was finished with comfortable silence with little conversation thrown in. After they both finished eating, Stephanie gave him a devious grin. "Now, Batman, I believe I have a temple to desecrate."

/\/\/\/\/\

The next morning Stephanie walked out of the break room with a cup coffee in her hand. She had indeed done everything she could to ruin Ranger last night, and he returned it tenfold. But what a way to be ruined, she thought with a smug smile.

"Ah, Beautiful, I know that look!" Lester Santos grinned at her and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Please tell me it's for me!"

"Sorry, Santos. It's for one man and one man alone." She laughed.

"Pity Connie didn't call me when you started out bounty hunting." Lester said with a mock pout.

"I'm sure you still would've lost to Ranger." Steph teased him.

"Ouch." He grinned, "You're probably right." Lester grew serious as they came closer to one of the conference rooms. "Ranger talked to you right? About the new hire?"

"Yes." Stephanie nodded. "I know she's a she."

"Oh good." He sighed. "Although, admittedly, it would've been nice to see a cat fight break out between the two of you. With the training you've had from us, you could take her. Plus it'd be hot."

"Do you ever think of anything but sex?"

"Why would I?" Lester grinned. "Sex is too much fun."

Stephanie couldn't disagree with him there. Sex was definitely too fun to give up. And sex with Ranger was a drug all on its own and she was never going to give it up.

"Seriously, though, Lil is cool. You'll like her. She's doesn't put up with people's shit." Lester kept talking as they headed to the conference room. "Most of the core team has worked with her a few times."

"Her name is Lil?"

"Yeah."

Stephanie felt her heart beat speed up. It couldn't she thought desperately. No. There were plenty of people who went by that nickname. Taking a deep breath she forced herself to calm down. She refused to worry about something that was probably nothing.

The moment she walked into the conference room, her hopes were shattered by a face that could undo everything. Ranger looked at her. "Babe, this is Liliana."

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><p><strong>Please Review! It'll make me smile! :-)<strong>


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: For those who I couldn't PM, thanks for the review :-) **

**Don't own anything (other than Liliana right now) just playing!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 2**

There are many ways to kill a person. Many of which can be done with bare hands, while others can be done through a quick easy way or through meticulous torture. All the different possibilities flew through Stephanie's mind in the .05 seconds she stared at Liliana before smiling welcomingly and holding her hand out.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Steph."

"Liliana." She replied taking her hand. Liliana had black hair that fell to her waist and dark brown eyes. Her skin was the color of caramel, showing off her Latino heritage. Liliana smiled and in that smile Stephanie saw the challenge and knowing while the others just saw two women greeting each other.

"I've heard a lot about you." Liliana said as they moved to sit down. "The guys speak highly of you. Since I'm just getting here, think you can show me around? The guys here, they're great," She shot Lester and Bobby grins, "but they're guys. I can ask them to take me shopping and they fly out of the room quicker than cheetah hunting their prey."

"Don't worry, they panic when they have to shop with me." Stephanie laughed. "It's not personal."

"Good to know." Liliana leaned back in her chair and watched Stephanie carefully. This was going to be interesting.

While the meeting started, everyone focused on Ranger. Stephanie forced herself to listen to everything he was saying, though how she heard him over her the trampling her heart was doing in her chest was beyond her. The moment his hand rested on her knee, her whole body seemed to calm under his touch. He had always known what to do to help her, even if he was unaware that he was doing it. He had the touch, much like some people had the touch for animals, like the Dog Whisperer. Inside she grinned and thought, _hm, Ranger must be the Stephanie Whisperer. _She wondered what he'd think of that comparison.

The meeting had come to a close and everyone was talking to each other, joking around. Stephanie watched Liliana with the men and casually asked, "Have you known the guys long?"

"Oh, for about four years or so, maybe closer to five." Liliana replied. "I helped do a couple distractions to keep the enemy occupied when they," She motioned towards the core team, "needed to get in and out pretty fast. Course, they weren't all successful."

"Like the time you dressed up as a gypsy." Lester snickered. "That was priceless."

"Babe, I have a client meeting in a few minutes," Ranger interrupted. "Would you mind showing Liliana around the building?"

"Sure," Stephanie nodded. Maybe if she had a chance she'd be able to get Liliana out of here with no one none the wiser.

"Thanks." Ranger graced her with a quick kiss and headed to his own office.

Give me a second and I'll join you, Beautiful." Lester called when Stephanie started to lead the new person out.

Damn, she thought. "Sure, Les. We'll wait out here." They leaned against the wall. Liliana was looking around at her new workplace. Stephanie was resisting the urge to bring old habits into play. Survival mode, she realized. She was trying to survive and she clearly felt on some level that Liliana was a threat to that.

"Gypsy?" Stephanie muttered low enough for Liliana to hear.

"I never could pull the gypsy off like you." Liliana muttered back.

Lester came out of the conference room wrapped his arms around both women. "Let's go ladies." They walked down the hall then he asked, with a waggle of his eyebrows, "What's the likeliness of getting you two to fight each other?"

"Why do you want us to fight?"

"It's hot." He shrugged. "Why else? We can get a mud pit and put you both in bikinis…" He looked happy with that image playing round and round in his head.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You're a pig, Santos. Go away before I shoot you."

"That's harsh, Beautiful." Lester grinned. "Then you'd have to tell Ranger you shot his cousin."

"I'm sure he'd understand the reasoning. I can't imagine him stopping me."

"I dunno, Bomber." Bobby said from behind them. "Ranger is a man. Mud wrestling is hot."

"Do I have to teach all of you a lesson?" Liliana stepped forward. "Hm? I seem to recall being able to kick both your asses."

"Now, Lil," Bobby backed up holding his hands up in surrender. "That's completely unnecessary." She continued advancing on him until he was against a wall. Suddenly, he grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. She giggled as he released her saying loudly, "It's good to see you again, Lil."

"Come on," Stephanie motioned her forward. I'll show you around without Lester's help."

"But!" Lester gave her a puppy dog look.

"Nope." She shook her head.

Liliana raised her eyebrow as she followed Stephanie. They were quiet, only speaking when Stephanie was showing her various departments of the company. Finally Liliana was unable to take it any longer.

"How many ways did you think of to kill me?"

Stephanie's lips curled up briefly. "Ten."

"Is that it?"

"It's an off day. Give me a few hours and I'll triple that easily."

"Bitch." She said with no heat.

"What are you doing here, Lil?"

"I'm just ready to settle down." Liliana shrugged.

"You ruin this for me, Liliana…" Stephanie started.

"Oh, back off." She cut Stephanie off. "I'm bored. I need something to come home to. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes."

"Believe it." Lil smiled suddenly. "Although, watching you sweat is definitely going to be fun."

Stephanie glared at her. Before she could say anything, her phone went off. Sighing, she picked it up and answered. "Yo."

"Babe." Ranger's voice sounded resigned. "I need to see you in my office."

"Alright." She closed her phone. "I'll drop you off in the control room so you can see how things work there. Cal should be there now."

After leaving Liliana in Cal's capable hands, she headed to Ranger's office. She knocked and waited for his, "Enter." Finding him sitting on the visitor couch with his head in his hands, she shut the door and locked it then walked over to him, sitting next him.

"Carlos?"

"I got a call, Babe." Ranger sighed. "I have to leave."

Stephanie nodded. "Do you know how long you'll be gone?"

He shook his head. "No. I'll try to check in from time to time, but it's unlikely I'll be able to and if I am, it may only be to Tank."

"I understand." She murmured.

"Babe, you know I love you." Ranger looked at her.

"I love you too." Stephanie kissed him. "Just come back to me, Batman. I'll heal you from whatever injuries you get."

He took her in his arms and held her close to him. Closing her eyes, Stephanie absorbed his warmth and held on to him, trying to give him her own strength.

"How long before you have to leave?" She asked finally.

"Six hours."

"Come with me." Stephanie took his hand. Leading him out of the office, she guided him toward the elevators. As they passed by Tank, she said, "We're offline, Big Guy."

Taking him seven, Stephanie made love to Carlos before he left. When he did leave he told her to stay in bed so he could have the image of her in his bed to keep him warm at night. Knowing what he could be facing, Stephanie allowed herself the evening to cry and pray for her lover.

/\/\/\/\/\

It was only a matter of time before Liliana was accepted by all the Rangemen. She could easily fight with the best of them. Stephanie noticed in the six weeks Liliana had been there, she had managed keep herself almost invisible to her. When the men did see them together, all they saw were two women conversing.

In an attempt to keep Stephanie's mind off Ranger, most of the men made nights out where they would either go to Shorty's or Pino's. Liliana was invited and she observed how Stephanie interacted with the men. She was different from the person Lil had known, but at the same time, the same. The men would share war stories of things they had done together in the armed forces or out in the field. During one night, Liliana and Stephanie's eyes met and thousands of secrets passed through the brief look.

So far Liliana had done nothing to warrant Stephanie having to do anything, but she refused to let her guard down. She didn't want to take any kind of risk. Of course one morning found them sparring together on the mats, which had a huge potential for getting her into trouble.

Stephanie and Liliana had been at it for an hour and were covered in sweat. There was a small crowd of men gathering, all wanting to see the match. They circled, studying one another. Liliana wanted to know what Stephanie would do, and Stephanie was trying to figure out a good method to taking her down without giving anything away. The Merry Men had done a wonderful job training her, but even then, Liliana's methods were different.

Liliana hid her smirk. She knew Stephanie was in a quandary. What to give away and what not to give away? That was the question. She wanted to spark something out of her. She swung forward, and Stephanie blocked. Whatever training she had allowed herself to be taught was good.

"Come on, Lil, we know you can fight better than this!" Tank called out.

"I don't want to break her." Lil laughed.

Stephanie's eyes narrowed. In a sudden quick series of moves that the Rangemen had taught her, Stephanie had Liliana flat on her back. She lay there looking shocked.

"I don't think you broke her." Lester snickered.

Stephanie raised her eyebrows ever so slightly and Liliana could see the unspoken message in the look on her face.

"Remind me not to fuck with you on a bad day." Liliana smiled.

Stephanie grinned and held a hand out. "Don't worry, you won't forget."

While the men chuckled with humor and told Steph how proud they were of her, Stephanie couldn't help but glancing over at Lil, who gave her a look that told her she knew what she was doing. Without anyone but the two them realizing it, Stephanie was effectively putting Liliana in her place. She was reminding her that despite being gone for five years, she still had the ability to wipe the floor with her if she so chose to.

Bobby hung back to talk to Liliana. Stephanie watched them noting their demeanor. The familiarity between the two of them spoke volumes. She wondered what the extent of their relationship was.

"Alright, now that the show's over everyone get back to work." Tank ordered. "Bomber, you heading to Vinnie's today?"

"Yep." Stephanie nodded. "Assuming I don't have many skips I should be back after lunch, possibly before."

"Taking a partner today?" Tank asked.

"Wasn't planning to."

"Take Liliana." He ordered. "You two need to work together more. Liliana's skills are different from the rest of ours and I think you'd benefit greatly learning from her."

If Stephanie hadn't caught herself, she'd be doing a fish impression at Tank. Was he serious? He thought _she _should learn from _Liliana_? Of course he was, she reminded herself. There was no way of Tank knowing that she didn't need Liliana.

"Sure, Tank." She agreed. "Let her know I'll be down in about an hour."

/\/\/\/\/\

The silence in the SUV was deafening. Neither of them spoke as they drove to the bonds office. Liliana was already feeling sore from the moves Stephanie had put her through. It had been a long time since they'd gone against one another. Secretly, she hoped Stephanie would finally crack and tell everyone who she truly was so they could really spar. Neither of them had really exerted as much effort as they normally would.

"You and Bobby are close." Stephanie said.

"Yes I am."

"Hurt him and I'll end you." Stephanie told her with no emotion in her voice.

"What do you care? You're with Ranger."

"They're my guys. I won't see anyone hurt them. I know what you're capable of." She pulled to a stop in front of the bonds office. She turned and faced Liliana. "He's a good man."

"Oh he's a great man." Liliana shot back. "All of them are. Including Ranger. Especially when they're in bed."

Stephanie itched to reach for her gun. "You can wait out here for all I care."

"Gladly." Liliana's phone rang. She stared at the caller ID.

"Problem?" Stephanie asked recognizing the look on her face.

Their eyes met and Liliana said, "No, not unless you want to walk back into Hell."

"I'll leave you to it." She got out of the SUV and headed into the bonds office. She knew what Liliana was doing bringing up Ranger being great in bed. She was determined to draw a rise out of Stephanie no matter what.

"White girl, you best have breakfast!" Lula said planting her hands on her hips. "Tankie done wore me out last night and I overslept!"

"Sorry, had a pretty intense workout this morning. I barely had a bagel before I left." Stephanie said. "Got any files for me or RangeMan?"

"Just Mooner for you. Couple pretty high end skips for RangeMan." Connie replied. "Is it true Ranger hired another woman?"

"Mm-hmm." Stephanie said absently flipping through the files.

"What, he don't think you can do your job anymore?" Lula demanded.

"No, he's helping out an old friend, that's all." Stephanie answered.

"And where is he?"

"In the wind."

"Humph." Lula sat down on the couch and folded her arms over her chest. "If you ask me, he's asking for trouble."

"Lil's not bad. She's a good worker." Stephanie defended. "Don't judge her off not knowing her."

Lula's eyes got wide as she looked at Stephanie. "You like her? She's not after your man?"

"Yes, I like her." Which was true, Stephanie could admit. Just because she felt Liliana was a threat to her current lifestyle didn't mean she didn't like her. They'd had a lot of good times together and she knew if it came down to it Lil and Steph would have each other's backs again. At least here, she had a good cover for why. "No, she's not after Ranger. Actually, I think she's interested in Bobby."

"Bobby is sweet," Connie said with a nod. "He deserves to have someone to make him happy."

"Yes, he does." Stephanie agreed. "I've got to get going. I'll catch you later." She walked out of the bonds office and froze on the steps. Her spidey-sense went on high alert. Using skills she had long ago disavowed having, she scanned every part of her surroundings. A tremor shot through her spine as she searched for the source. It felt like…._no_, she thought vehemently. It couldn't be. There was no way for it to be who she thought it was.

Quickly, she got back into the SUV where Lil was waiting for her. "What is it?" She had recognized the look on Stephanie's face and knew something was up, although she doubted Stephanie would tell her.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Call Tank, tell him we've got Mooner and we'll be back well after lunch."

"Who the hell is Mooner?" Liliana asked as she dialed.

Six hours later, they were dropping Mooner back off at his house. Liliana watched him go in shocked amazement. "You just spend five and a half hours watching a Three's Company marathon."

"So did you."

"Shit, Steph!" Liliana burst out. "You can't tell me you're happy like this!"

"It's what I want."

"No it isn't!" She continued, "What you want is someone who can handle the real you. You left because—"

"Stop!" Stephanie growled. "It's not up to you. I don't care what your reasons are for being here, but you do not get to dictate how things should be going to me!"

"One of these days, you have to stop running."

"I'm not running anywhere."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Stephanie shot her a glare as they headed back to Haywood. She knew she didn't have to worry about Liliana yet. She did however have to worry about a couple meetings she promised to do this afternoon.

Tank accompanied her to the meetings and grinned afterward when they had the contracts signed. He told her Ranger would be proud of her. It brought a dazzling smile his way when she heard that. All in all, the day had been a good one, Stephanie reflected.

Tank headed into his office, unaware that he was about to be contacted with a problem evolving between Stephanie and Liliana.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review! They make me smile!<strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: I own nothing (except Liliana at the moment), I'm just playing with them :-)**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 3**

The following morning had started out well. Stephanie did her morning exercise and had the men show her new moves to add to the ones she already had. Afterward, she headed up to seven where she decided was the best place to be until Ranger came home and she could seek sanctuary in his arms. Ella left a warm breakfast waiting for her. She couldn't help but smile when she saw it. Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict. Not an easy recipe to make, she knew first hand, though she wouldn't admit it out loud. She appreciated that Ella went through the trouble to ease things for her while Ranger was gone.

However, when she came down to five, things went from well to high alert panic. No one else noticed. No one else but Liliana. She saw the look on Stephanie's face before it changed to her usual pleasant façade.

Heart racing, escape routes noted, Stephanie did the only thing she could think of. She squealed out with delight. "Uncle Reggie!"

The tall black man looked up at her with surprise and broke into a delighted grin. "Well, well, Stephanie Plum! I haven't seen you in years! You're all grown up!" He exclaimed.

"I had to sometime!" She laughed as she walked over to him. Tank, Bobby and Lester were standing behind him looking surprised. Tank and Bobby looked at one another. Bobby mouthed "Uncle Reggie?"

"Bomber, you know General White?" Lester asked.

"Oh, yeah!" She waved a hand dismissively, "Uncle Reggie and my dad served together for several years. I grew up seeing him pop round for visits!"

"Damn shame when your dad decided it was time to retire." Reggie said hugging her. "I bet he's beating the men away with sticks to keep their hands off you."

"I'm thirty-one, Uncle Reggie. I can take care of myself."

"Doesn't matter how old you get, little girl," He chuckled, "A father is a father. He'll protect his daughters every way possible."

She caught his gaze and a silent message passed through them. He was keeping quiet. Stephanie could feel a weight lifting off her shoulders. So far, so good. "Are you here to visit Dad?"

"I sure am. Will you be there tonight?"

"Oh, I think I can make time for my favorite uncle." She teased.

For the three men watching this interaction, they could only stare in utter amazement. Here was General Reginald White, the biggest hard ass, who had trained them and ran them into the ground. He pushed them hard and when they felt like they couldn't keep going, he continued pushing, though he gave the right bits of encouragement. To sit here and see Stephanie call him "Uncle Reggie" and treat him like a huge softie was one of the most bizarre situations they had ever seen. Something told all of them it was rare for anyone to see this side of him and they weren't likely to get away with bringing it up.

"Ah, Liliana." Reggie nodded at her as she passed by. "I wondered what you decided to do with yourself."

"You know me, General." Liliana smiled. "Without a mission of my own, I get cabin fever. Ranger Manoso offered me a job. It should keep me out of trouble."

"Good. Dealing with you getting into trouble is the last thing I need." Reggie shot her a grin. "Especially after last time."

"Good to know I'm not the only one with trouble-making tendencies." Stephanie said idly.

"Beautiful, your trouble-making tendencies are always on accident. Lil's are always on purpose." Lester told her.

"Not always!" Liliana protested. "Just…most of the time."

Stephanie shot her a look that clearly stated, _Some things never change._ Liliana studiously ignored the look she was receiving. The men were focused on whatever Reggie was saying and didn't see it.

"Stephanie, care to join an old man for lunch?" Reggie asked her finally. "I know I'll see you tonight at dinner, but it's been so long since I've had the chance to take a beautiful woman out."

"Careful, Uncle Reggie," Stephanie laughed, "Daddy might come after you with a sniper rifle if he hears you talking like that!"

"He has nothing to worry about!" Reggie chuckled. "Last I talked to him, you were dating some schmuck who wasn't treating you right. Still with him?"

"Nope." Stephanie shook her head and smiled. "I'm dating the schmuck who owns this place."

"I can't wait to tell Ranger she called him a schmuck." Lester whispered to Bobby who grinned.

Stephanie's phone rang and she looked at the caller ID. "Oops. Sorry, Uncle Reggie. I'll have to take a rain check on lunch. Maybe tomorrow if you're still in town? I promised a friend I'd help her with some of her skips this morning."

"Tomorrow sounds good." Reggie replied.

With that, Stephanie made her escape from RangeMan and let out a shaky breath in the safety of the SUV she was driving.

/\/\/\/\/\

Dinner was promptly at six. Stephanie chose to wisely show up before then. She wanted a chance to see Reggie and talk to him before they would be swamped with her parents, Grandma Mazur, Valerie and her brood.

Fortunately, when she arrived her sister hadn't shown up yet. She knew it was only a matter of time until Valerie did. She came into the house and was immediately dragged into the kitchen by her mother.

Helen stared at her with her hands on her hips. "I want to know right now that you did not agree to signing something again!"

"Mom?" Stephanie looked at her confused.

"Last time Reggie was here, you walked away with him and I won't spend another eight years terrified out of my mind that you're not coming back." Helen replied. Her hands had moved from her hips to gripping her apron in a death like grip. Stephanie briefly tried to put herself in her mother's shoes to imagine the terror she must have felt during that time.

"Helen," Frank said reprovingly as he walked in with Reggie behind him. "You know as well as I do that it wasn't Reggie's doing. He just maneuvered things so _he _would be the one watching over Stephanie."

Helen sighed. "I know. Reggie, I'm sorry, I do know, but I just…" She shook her head.

"I understand." Reggie said with a smile. "Rest assured that I am not here to take Stephanie. I'm just here for a friendly visit."

At that moment, Valerie walked into the kitchen surprising all of them. She demanded to know why no one had been at the front door waiting. She saw Reggie and smiled politely, but kept herself reserved. Valerie didn't know what happened with her sister. It had been covered up so well that sometimes her own parents forgot what really happened.

Dinner, for the most part, was a quiet event. Instead of the usual mayhem caused, Grandma Mazur was off with one of her friends from the Clip 'n Curl. Angie sat eating quietly and Mary Alice only gave the occasional neigh while she buried her face in her plate. Albert watched Frank and Reggie talk back and forth about their war stories, never daring to jump in because in reality, what did he have to compete with? Helen eyed Stephanie carefully, as though she were just waiting for the bomb to drop that she would be leaving.

When Stephanie did announce that she was heading back to RangeMan, Helen seemed to breathe easier, causing her to think back to that fateful day. It had never occurred to her how anyone else would react. Her actions that day had been one of pure determination to save someone she loved. Part of her wanted to look at her mother and accuse of her living by the Burg standards, but she knew in _this _particular case, that wasn't it. It was a general Burg Rule that there were no true secrets held among the residents, but this particular secret had been held rigidly by her parents. There were dirty secrets that everyone knew but no one voiced, but rarely was there one that no one ever found out about. No, this particular case was just a mother's fear for her child.

Reggie walked out of the house with her. "Stephanie, we should talk tomorrow at lunch. There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you."

"I figured." She sighed and gave a sad smile. "It's coming to an end, isn't it?"

"Let's hope not." He said. "We'll talk about it at lunch."

She nodded and headed back to Haywood. During the drive, her mind wandered to the last six weeks. The entire time Lil had been here and now Reggie was showing up. Something was wrong. And she didn't like it, but she knew who she'd get it out of faster. With that thought in mind, she drove faster to Haywood.

/\/\/\/\/\

Tank sat in his office staring at the paperwork with a look that could make a man wet his pants. Of course, paper couldn't wet itself, so all he could do was glare at it and wonder briefly if he would get away with lighting it all on fire. He sighed as he finally began working on the offending object. In the back of his mind it occurred to him that Ranger must accept missions when he decides to get away from doing the paperwork himself.

A thought occurred to him. Perhaps if things were too busy in the field, when Ranger came back he'd be office bound with paperwork. The pleasantness of that feeling died quickly when his office phone rang.

"Talk."

"Tank, we've got a problem." Hal's voice was perturbed.

"Where?"

"Hallway on four." He replied.

Disconnecting, Tank turned to his computer and accessed the monitors to the fourth floor. He watched the scene unfolding in front of him. Stephanie was in the hall with the other woman and they were arguing. He turned up the volume to hear the conversation.

"You shouldn't even be here!" Stephanie growled. "You need to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere. You don't scare me!"

In a quick series of moves that Tank knew for a fact they had never taught Stephanie, she had the woman pinned against the wall. Stephanie's voice was low when she began speaking again, but Tank could hear everything she said. "You really need to ask yourself if this smart, Lil."

"Maybe you should be asking that." Lil gasped out. "Kill me and you're fucked."

"What's going on?" Stephanie's voice was one of command, something Tank had never heard from her before. It was something he had heard from his CO's in the army, from Ranger, but never from Stephanie. In fascination he continued to watch the scene unfold before him.

"Why do you care? You get to go around pretending to exist while the rest of help keep you alive. You've got RangeMan protecting you while their leader is off being world hero." Lil tried to push against Stephanie only to find herself pressed harder into the wall. "What would your precious Carlos say if he knew that you don't actually need protection? Hm?"

"Back off, Liliana!" Stephanie snarled. "Either tell me what's going on or get out of Trenton."

"Can't." She replied. "Damn it, Plum! Let me go. I'll talk."

Interesting, Tank thought as Stephanie released her. Liliana turned. Rubbing at various parts of her body to make sure she was completely intact, she continued speaking to Stephanie. "You're the one who wants to pretend nothing happened. They gave you that. You fulfilled your end of the bargain. They're keeping their word. Unusual, but they're doing it."

"Then why are you here?" Stephanie demanded.

"Maybe I missed you." Liliana smiled. "The boys are…well, they're boys."

Tank could see Stephanie rolling her eyes from his seat. "Of course they're boys, and I hardly think you missed me."

"I did." Liliana said emphatically. "Nothing's been the same since you left. They bring in others, but none as good as you. And anyway, it was a universally agreed that I come here."

"By who?"

"Everyone."

"Why?" Stephanie looked ready to strangle someone.

"You wanted this world of make-believe, Steph. We're making sure you get to keep it." Liliana said stepping a few feet away from her. "I don't see why you hide it though. You really think Ranger or any of his men will judge you for it?"

Stephanie glared at her. "It's not for them to decide what they know about me."

She shrugged. "Maybe not, but something tells me, we're all going to be on the same page soon. Then what are you going to do?"

"What do you know that you're not sharing?" Stephanie took a dangerous step forward causing Liliana to raise her hands in a surrendering gesture.

"I don't know anything. Trust me. You'll be the first to know if I do. I'm not stupid."

"It wouldn't be a good idea for you to consider thinking otherwise, Lil." Stephanie said firmly.

Liliana leaned against the wall and looked back at Stephanie. "Believe me, Steph. I've worked with both you and Ranger. I know full well which one of you is the deadliest. Pissing you off is not on my list of life goals."

Tank watched as Liliana walked away from the Stephanie. He watched as his favorite Bomber looked up and gave an "oh shit" look toward the camera realizing she had just given a vital part of something away. Something she had clearly been trying to keep hidden for some time.

Picking up his phone he dialed Stephanie's number, barking out, "My office," when she answered. It was time to see what Stephanie Plum was hiding from everyone.

Stephanie knocked on his door and let herself in. "Shut the door, Bombshell." He said. She kicked it shut with the back of her foot and stared at him. "Sit."

Scowling she did as he commanded and waited to see what he was going to do next. They stared at one another for several moments, waiting to see who would crack first. Tank watched as a blank look came to her face. It was universally acknowledged at RangeMan and any of Steph's friends that she didn't possess a blank face. Hers was one that expressed every emotion possible. Yet, here she sat, nothing on her face. It was enough to make him nervous.

"Got something you want to share?" He asked.

"No."

"You seem to have a beef with Lil." Tank leaned back in his chair, and drummed his fingers on the desk. "If you're feeling threatened, you don't have to you know."

"I'm not." Stephanie replied. "She did mention she's slept with Ranger…and all of you."

"Shit, Bomber." He ran a hand over his face. Was Stephanie really picking fights with Liliana over something like that? "That was at least two years before he met you!"

"Well, then I have nothing to be threatened by do I?" She started to stand. "If we're done here?"

"We're not finished here. Sit." He pointed at the chair. "Look, Steph, you can talk to me if you have concerns. I know it's an unusual situation with Liliana, but her standing is very similar to Ranger's. I can't talk to you about most of it, but I can tell you she's not a threat."

Stephanie resisted the urge to smile. Oh, she knew exactly what Lil's life entailed, but giving that info away would do nothing. She knew what Tank was doing. She was damned if she was going to let him get to her.

"Good to know." She replied.

"I don't want to have to tell Ranger you're picking fights with her." He said.

"Have you heard from him?" Stephanie visibly perked up.

"No, and don't change the subject."

"I'm not picking fights with her."

Tank glared at her. Rewinding the feed, he turned the monitor so Stephanie could watch herself throw Liliana against the wall. "What do you have to say about this?"

"Next time I'll take her to a back alley on Stark to keep you from seeing?" She suggested.

"Damn it, Stephanie!" Tank snapped. She had the good grace to jump in surprise. Clearly, he was irked by what he had seen in that video. "You've been keeping things from us, and I want to know what they are!"

"Why?"

"Why?" He motioned angrily at the monitor, "You've clearly got training of some kind because I know what your training is here and neither Ranger nor I had what you just pulled on Lil on any of your training sessions. Something tells me you don't need us and I'll be damned if I let you fuck Ranger over!"

Stephanie's jaw dropped. "Fuck him over? Tank, I would never!" Tears involuntarily came to her eyes. "I love him, Tank. I love you guys. You're my family!"

Feeling like shit, he walked around his desk and wrapped her in his arms. "Alright, Bomber. I believe you. Tell me what's going on."

"I can't." She replied. "Believe me when I say it's safer this way."

"Are you sure about that? Liliana doesn't seem to think it is."

"She doesn't know what she's talking about." Stephanie said sounding like she was trying to convince herself of that.

"You know I could find out if I wanted to." Tank told her.

"Actually you can't." She looked up at him and smiled.

"We've got the best background checks out there. You know that." Tank grinned back at her.

"Tank…let me put it to you this way." Stephanie stepped away from him. "Not even Ranger has clearance to find out about me."

Tank's eyebrows shot up. Ranger had some damn good clearance so whatever Stephanie was hiding was beyond that made him all the more curious. He knew getting anything out of her right now wasn't going to happen.

She shifted on her feet. "Tank…about that feed…"

"I'll take care of it, Bombshell." Tank knew that Hal would keep his mouth shut about what he saw, and he would too. Whatever Stephanie didn't want to share was clearly something she needed to keep hidden. "You know you can talk to me if you need to."

"Yeah, I know." She opened the door and walked out.

He leaned back on his desk and sighed. He still felt like an ass for accusing Stephanie of screwing with Ranger. Her reaction had proven that she wasn't but what was she keeping hidden?

"She's not going to." Liliana leaned in the doorframe.

"What?"

"Talk to you."

"How do you know what we were talking about Lil?"

She smiled. "Do you think I wasn't aware that you have cameras on every floor of this building? I knew the moment you saw what was going you'd call her and try to bully it out of her. Didn't work, did it?"

"No." He eyed her. "You care to explain the situation?"

Liliana laughed. "No, but I'm sure next time she's going to take me to the shady side of town to threaten me."

"You know her pretty well." Tank said. "Should I expect any more problems out of either of you?"

"Us? Nope. We're the souls of discretion." She replied.

/\/\/\/\/\

Stephanie went up to seven and went about getting ready for bed. Targeting Liliana had been pointless, she thought as she went through her nightly ritual. For one thing, she didn't know anything and for another, it got her dragged into Tank's office for a talk. She knew she could tell Tank everything and that he'd keep it to himself. She trusted him as much as Ranger did. In fact, her relationship with Liliana had been the same way the men's relationship was.

No, she thought tiredly. She wouldn't tell Tank until after Ranger found out. Despite her determination to hide, something was setting off her Spidey Sense and she had a strong feeling that things were not going to stay as… "peaceful" as she had gotten them to be.

Crawling into bed, she closed her eyes and said a prayer for Ranger. She would have to talk to Reggie and see what he could tell her. Sleep quickly overpowered her and she fell into the land of nightmares bringing the past back to her forcing her to relive things she wanted to forget desperately.

* * *

><p><strong>Please Review! They bring smiles to my face! :-)<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you to anyone I wasn't able to send a PM to for reviewing! :-) **

**Not mine, don't own them, just playing.**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 4**

Stephanie met Reggie in a small café away from the Burg. She knew too well that those in the Burg wouldn't hesitate to go to town on the gossip seeing them together would cause. It was also a safe café that both of them knew they would have the clearance to speak as freely as they could.

Once they both were seated a waitress came to take their orders. They kept silent until she was gone. Reggie looked at Stephanie. "You sure this is the life you want, Steph?"

"It's what I need." She answered.

"I have a hard time believing that," Reggie said. "I look at what you're doing now, and knowing what you've done in the past, I know what you can do. Based off your performance yesterday, Ranger and his men don't even know what you're truly capable of. Why is that?"

"Tank knows something's up." Stephanie admitted.

"And how did he figure that?"

"Uh…he sorta saw me threatening Lil." She looked at him sheepishly. "But you have to admit, her being hired at RangeMan and then you showing up, it's suspicious."

"It's good to see your still using your skills." Reggie smiled. "Tank try bullying you?"

"Yep."

Reggie let out a good laugh. "I would've liked seeing him take you on."

"It wasn't that exciting. I threw him a bone when I told him Ranger doesn't even have enough clearance to get information on me."

Reggie raised an eyebrow. "Gave a little away there, did you?"

"Uncle Reggie," Stephanie hesitated for a moment. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

Before he had a chance to answer, the waitress appeared with their order. Eating in silence, he contemplated his answer. Finally, he said, "Steph, what makes you think something is going on?"

She gave him a look that clearly stated she knew he was stalling. "You don't honestly expect me to believe Liliana would walk away from that life? I figure she's here 'undercover.' What I want to know is why. What's going on that you would send her here to pretend she wants to leave?"

Reggie took a bite of his sandwich deciding on what to tell her. Ultimately, he decided to tell her what he knew. The only way she had a fair chance at keeping herself protected. "We've got reason to believe your identity has been compromised. Lil is here to keep an eye on you and help you maintain the lifestyle you've chosen."

"Someone's watching me." She told him, not bothering to keep it to herself. "I could feel it the other day at the bonds office."

"Did you find the location?"

"No," Stephanie shook her head, "To be honest, it felt like…" She trailed off, unwilling to voice the suspicion she had.

Reggie reached down into his briefcase and pulled out a picture. Placing it in front of her, he asked, "Felt like him?"

He watched as all the blood drained from her face. Saw the emotions battle in her eyes, before she hardened herself so she could look at the situation from a detached stance. "Not possible. He thinks she's dead."

"Unfortunately, information we've received shows that he doesn't believe that at all. Not especially since he's linked her back to you." Reggie leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I know you don't want to hear this, but perhaps if you came back…"

"Stop." Stephanie held a hand up. "I won't come back to that. I can't. It almost destroyed me."

"Fair enough." He nodded, remembering the struggle she had gone through in the final months before she left. "What do you want to do? I promised to make sure you were protected once you came back."

"Protection was promised before I even signed that damn paper." Stephanie sighed and shut her eyes. She wanted to take a first class ticket to Denial Land and buy a luxury mansion that would help her forget everything. Deep down, she knew she wouldn't do it. She couldn't do it. She owed it to everyone to make sure they were kept safe.

"I won't go back, Uncle Reggie." Stephanie said. "But I will watch my back and if I see anything that I think will threaten me and mine, I know who to call."

"Liliana stays here." He replied.

"She goes back."

"Not up for negotiation, Plum," Reggie said in a voice that she recognized as authority, rather than compromising. He wouldn't budge on this. He was right, she thought, they had promised her protection when she walked away and now he was making sure she had it.

"How much does Lil know?"

"Very little. We wanted to narrow down the list of suspects on who could have given you away."

"Outing me isn't Lil's style." Stephanie defended her. "If she wanted to destroy me, she'd do it herself. We worked together long enough that she would know how to."

"I realize that, nor do I think she would actually do it." Reggie admitted. "In the last five years, she's come to me more times than I can count and begged me to find a way to bring you back because she hated working with all the others we brought in to replace you."

"Seeing that I never heard from you, I'd say you told her no."

"You wanted peace, Steph. You fulfilled your end of the deal. Though, you and Lil worked best together."

It wasn't news to her. She and Lil had worked together so often that they both know how one another would react to situations they were put in. It was much like Ranger and Tank. Often enough she had seen the way Tank and Ranger would react to one another's work methods and knew that they had worked together for years and extremely well. Ranger trusted very few to have his back, but on the top of that list was Tank in a heartbeat. Stephanie wasn't sure if she was on that list, but then, Ranger didn't know what she could do.

"It certainly kept things running smoothly." Stephanie replied. "The whole team did."

"It's a pity you quit when you did." Reggie smiled. "It would have been interesting to watch you and Ranger work together in those conditions."

She looked away from him. Knowing Ranger's work style at RangeMan, she could imagine the way he worked when he was on a mission. Part of her was very curious to find out what it would be like to work with him in those situations. A bigger part wanted to keep herself protected and that's the side she listened to.

"Have you had any word of Ranger?" She asked.

"I'm not in charge of sending him on his missions."

"Doesn't mean you haven't kept track of him." Stephanie shot back.

"And why would I?"

"I'm sure the moment you found out he and I are involved, you put your ear out to find out about him." She smiled sweetly and picked up a potato chip and tossed it in her mouth.

Reggie chuckled. "Even not knowing you two are involved, I know a lot about Ranger Manoso. He's got quite the reputation, most of it earned for his time in the Rangers."

"He's pretty good, huh?" Stephanie smiled.

"One of the best. His instincts are sharper than most of the people I know. There's only one other person I know whose instincts are that good." He gave her a meaningful look. She simply raised her eyebrows and continued eating potato chips. "I can't tell you about his mission, you know that."

"I don't need to know about the mission. I just want to know that he's alive and safe."

He gave a deep sigh, not wanting to relay this next piece of news. "Steph, I'm sorry, but last I heard, he missed his last check in. If he misses another one, we'll probably send in men to find him."

Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. "Wh-when is his next check in?"

"In a few hours." He replied. He saw the look on her face and knew what she was thinking, "Stephanie, you walked away. Don't for one instant think we'll let you walk back in to go save him. I'm sure Ranger is fine and will make his next check in. Even if he doesn't, we know who to call."

She sighed. "I know. I know."

"Not to overstep my bounds, but have you considered telling Ranger about _your _past?" He asked.

"No. It's safer if he doesn't know anything." Stephanie replied.

Barking out a surprised laugh he said, "Stephanie, one of the reasons you gave me for leaving was that you didn't have anyone who could bring you back from who you had to be. Seems to me, Ranger would be the best person for that. From what the men tell me you two are perfect for each other."

"This really isn't up for discussion," She said. "And I have to get back to RangeMan."

/\/\/\/\/\

Stephanie spent the rest of the day trying to keep herself from going insane. She wanted to know that Ranger made his check in. She wanted to call contacts she had that she hadn't spoken to in years in order to find out if he was alive.

Liliana stopped by to see if she was going out for skips and gave her a knowing look when she saw the fidgeting habits Stephanie was exhibiting. She walked off quickly, when Stephanie picked up a letter opener and looked at Lil threateningly.

"Bomber," Tank stood to the entryway of her cubicle, "Stop visually threatening, Lil."

"I'm not." Stephanie replied.

"We need to talk. Come to my office."

Fearing the worst, she followed him slowly, hoping to prolong whatever it was Tank was going to talk to her about. Inside his office, Lester and Bobby waited. "What's going on, Big Guy?"

"Long story short, Ranger missed his check in." Tank told her. "We're heading out to find him. We won't be able to contact you, but Hal's in charge. Promise you won't try to kill Liliana while we're gone."

"Why would she try killing Liliana?" Lester wanted to know.

"She made the mistake of telling Bomber that she's slept with Ranger." Bobby told him. It was the only information he had gotten out of Tank in regards to why he was keeping an eye on Stephanie and Liliana.

Lester let out a low whistle. "Damn. She's a brave woman."

Tank, knowing full well that Stephanie was likely to do something if he didn't stop the conversation from where it was going, said, "Well?"

"I promise to _try _to not kill Liliana." Stephanie answered. "I can't be held accountable if she shoots her mouth off about Ranger or you guys."

"Aw, Beautiful, you're defending our honor?" Lester bat his eyelashes at her. "That is just so sweet!"

She turned and glared at Lester. Bobby, who was standing next to him, reached up and smacked upside the head. "Lester, you guys are like my brothers. Of course, I'll defend you."

"Thanks, Bomber," Bobby grinned at her.

/\/\/\/\/\

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since the men had gone to find Ranger and she had heard nothing. Stephanie was trying to keep herself calm, but she knew she was getting twitchy. There were a few different ways she knew to handle said twitchiness, but doing so gave more away than she wanted to give to the rest of the men.

She did find solace in sparring with Liliana. While she stuck to what the Merry Men had trained her to do, every so often, she snuck in a move that she had been trained to do originally. Liliana knew and instead of calling her on it, she simply smiled and hoped it brought her one step closer to opening up to everyone.

The feeling of being watched hadn't left, either. Every time Stephanie and Liliana left to go after skips, she could feel herself being watched, most often at the bonds office. She tried to keep herself away from the windows, but whenever she went outside, she found herself searching for the culprit. She hadn't told Lil about her conversation with Reggie because she knew how Liliana would react to hearing who it might be. The entire cavalry would arrive and Stephanie would be busted, whether she liked it or not.

Every night, Stephanie said her prayers for Ranger and for the men, sending them love and luck wherever they were. Then she fell into sleep that gave her nightmares. She was very close to finding sleeping pills that would knock her out for eight hours solid.

One morning, she came to the dining room and found Ella waiting for her. "Good morning, Ella."

"Good morning, dear." Ella smiled and held out a manila envelope. "Hal sent this up with me. This was delivered for you earlier this morning."

"Oh, thanks!" She returned the grin.

After Ella left Stephanie ate her breakfast slowly, she opened the manila envelope and looked through its contents. Feeling her stomach roll at what she was seeing, she automatically picked up her phone and dialed a number she had hoped to forget.

When the person picked up on the other end, she said, "I'm on my way."

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><p><strong>Please Review! They bring smiles! :-)<strong>


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: For those who got early messages from me in the dark hours of the morning, I am so sorry! I know I said I'd be posting this chapter shortly, but my internet crapped out and I had to wait for it to behave. But here it is! I hope everyone likes it. Parts of it are a bit iffy for me. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters you recognize as JE's. **

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 5**

"Did you get him?"

"Yeah. What does the boss want him for?"

"Dunno." The man shrugged. Leaning back against a wall outside the large estate, he took out a cigarette and lit it. "All I know is he's spittin' mad. He wants the bitch back. He's plannin' on somethin'."

"What the hell does an Army Ranger have to do with her?" the other guy mused, scratching his chin as he looked up at the dusk covered sky.

"We're not paid to ask questions. Just do what we're told."

"You weren't here when shit went down. You don't know what could happen."

The guy smoked his cigarette for several long moments. Then he finally asked. "What's so special about this bitch?"

"She's…" The other guy shrugged. "Damn, she's hard to describe. She attracted every man. She had flawless skin, made you want your hands on her. She loved to dye her hair, but her eyes…man those eyes were the best thing to see on her. Violet eyes that sucked you in. She could hypnotize an entire room dancing. Friended everyone somehow, but you never fucked with her."

"Why not?"

"For all her beauty and friendliness, there was something that just told you pissing her off would not be the best idea." He stretched his arms over his head. "Rumor was any who actually did manage to anger her usually disappeared. Never been proven though."

"What's the boss want her for?" The smoker was clearly intrigued with the story at this point. Whoever this beauty was managed to get under their boss's skin. No one got under his skin.

"Rodrigo, well, we all know he's not capable of love, but he _is _capable of some kind of affection. He fell for her, believe it or not. Put the two of them together and it was a scary combination. People saw him trying to woo her. Rodrigo wanted her because he couldn't have her. Then he had her and she didn't allow him to control her."

"And she got away from him?" The incredulous sound in his voice made his buddy laugh. They both knew _nobody _got away from Rodrigo. Whatever Rodrigo decided was his remained his until their death.

"Freak car accident. They say she died instantly."

"Did he do it?"

"Depends on who you ask. Some say yes, some say one of his enemies found a way to get to him."

"Boss thinks she's alive."

"Looks that way."

Stubbing out his cigarette he pushed himself off the wall. "He's got another job. Best go see what it is."

/\/\/\/\/\

At the window of his office, Rodrigo listened to the men's conversation. Drawing the cigar out of his mouth, he glared at the sunset. Those two fools were treading on dangerous ground. Though the one man did explain the woman better than most did. Clearly he had read her better than anyone would have thought. Briefly, Rodrigo thought of hiring him beyond his current duties.

Looking at the end of his cigar he became thoughtful as he reflected on _her._

They were right to say he didn't love. Love was a weak emotion. It had no business in his life. He owned things and people. There were plenty of men and women who owed him and he always saw ample opportunity to remind them of that. In fact, he had been known to take men's wives for a night or two when the men thought they would be brave enough to confront him.

Of course, over the years, there were always one or two women who thought they'd get the better of him. They rarely succeeded. Those were the ones he enjoyed breaking the most. The woman he wanted most, thought, oh, he would enjoy _destroying _her. She had underestimated him when she thought she could conveniently "die."

His thoughts of torture were interrupted when his phone rang. "What?" He growled with a heavy Spanish accent.

"How long do you expect me to hold him, Rodrigo?" Came the annoyed voice on the other end.

"As long as I need him there." He snapped.

"I fail to see what taking him is going to cause."

"You are not paid to see what it causes, Frederick. You are paid to keep your mouth shut and go about your business."

"Dammit, Rodrigo!" Frederick's voice rose. "He's a fucking Ranger. He took out six of my men before he was taken down. He's a liability to my business and if you think for one moment that I'm going to risk exposure for some little dream you're carrying, you're fucking insane!"

"I would be very careful of name calling, Frederick." Rodrigo's voice cooled so low that he could feel Frederick's shudder through the phone. "Unless your sister would like to visit again?"

"You can't touch her anymore." Frederick growled, feeling suddenly inspired with newfound courage.

"I would not be so sure of that." Rodrigo smiled cruelly, knowing only the ghosts of past could see the sinister look on his face.

"Rodrigo." Frederick's voice changed to one of soothing, as though he were dealing with a small child. "She's gone. You have to accept that and move on. There's nothing you can do about that. Not even you can control a car accident."

"She's not dead!" Rodrigo growled. "I know she isn't and I'll drag her back by her hair if I have to! No one leaves me!"

"Rodrigo—"

"Shut up, Frederick. You're only alive because you're a viable source of information and anything else I need."

"Which means treating me like one of your lackeys or those idiots you control is not in _your _best interest." He shot back. "You are not my only source of income and don't for one minute think I will suffer if I lose your business. As it is thanks to your delusional self I have three other Rangers trekking around the area."

"Good. Catch them and bring them to their friend. The more at risk the more I win," Rodrigo ordered.

"This will cost you significantly more than just the one did."

"Of course," Rodrigo's voice changed to soothing. "I will wire the same amount for each head that I paid for his. That's quite an income."

"Double it for each head."

"I don't think so, Frederick."

"Oh, I think so. You want those men, you double the fee for each man, or they'll find their way in here and make off with their buddy. Then where will you be on your quest?"

Rodrigo smiled amused now, "I'm impressed, Frederick. I didn't think you'd ever grow the _cajones _to demand what you really want."

"Wire the funds in the next hour then I'll let you know when the men are captured." Frederick said and hung up.

Rodrigo placed the phone down on the receiver and actually laughed. While he intimidated many to the point of fear, Frederick only allowed fear to rule his actions for so long. When it came to money, Frederick was ruthless. He was known for having the best of anything and everything someone was looking for. Drugs, rare books, gems, people, Frederick could find it. He was just calculating enough to stay away from being suspicious to governments. Though, it would probably not surprise many if there were indeed governments who used him as well.

No, Rodrigo thought, he did not pose much of a threat to Frederick. He was being paid handsomely to keep his mouth shut and hold those men for him. He would be a good little boy until Rodrigo had someone pick them up. Until then…

His eyes moved across his office, landing on a picture frame containing the one woman he wanted and would get again. A dangerous growl erupted from his throat.

"Iris."

/\/\/\/\/\

Tank wiped the sweat off his brow and continued to lead the way through the jungle. The informant he had gotten hold of told him he had last seen Ranger in this way before he was ambushed by several men. Knowing his friend, he would have taken down several of them before being taken out.

"Damn man, how much farther?" Lester grumbled. "Not to complain or anything, but this whole situation doesn't sound right."

"What are you talking about?" Bobby asked.

"Think about it. Ranger…getting caught?" He shook his head. "I know he got caught in Columbia once, but again? Something tells me things are not good."

"Because getting caught by the bad guys is always a party." Bobby replied dryly.

Tank snorted with quiet laugh while Lester glared at Bobby. "I'm just sayin…"

"Yeah, I get you." Bobby nodded. "Something about this feels wrong somehow but I can't place why."

Tank stopped walking and motioned for the others to stop. Slowly they hid themselves among the jungle terrain. They could hear something or someone getting closer. All their training had made it possible for them to get through long periods of waiting without moving. This was something all of them knew drove Stephanie nuts on stakeouts.

Surprisingly, whatever was coming had moved quickly and was already gone. Waiting a few moments, Tank finally signaled for the men to rise. The three of them rose, looked around for any sign of trouble and continued walking along.

Quietly continuing, they thought of the current situation. It bothered Tank that it was taking two weeks to find Ranger. Usually their informants had more information but this time…no this time they were unusually quiet. All he could do was go on this hunch and keep looking. He didn't know how much longer they could stay in Colombia, but they'd do what they could to find Ranger and take him back to Stephanie.

"Ah, Tank." Lester said.

"What, Santos?"

"Problem."

Tank turned to see what Lester was talking about and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. How had he gotten so caught up in his thoughts he never heard them sneak up on them?

A glance around told him they were drastically outnumbered. The man in the front of all them motioned to him. "Drop gun."

Knowing their situation was precarious at best, they lowered their guns and held up their hands in surrender. In a matter of moments, they were bound and gagged and forced to walk back to where their kidnapper's trucks were waiting.

Before any of them could get into the truck, three of the men knocked the former Rangers in the back of the head, rendering them unconscious.

/\/\/\/\/\

Tank groaned as he slowly came to. His head throbbed and he growled knowing he had been caught. He opened his eyes and found Bobby hovering over him.

"Hey man." Bobby said. "Found Ranger." He motioned with his head.

Tank looked over at their boss and friend. Ranger lay a few feet away from them, shackled to wall. He looked like he'd been beaten badly. "Fuck."

"I can only find some broken ribs, but other injuries I need my medical equipment to see."

"Shit, how are we getting out of this?" Lester demanded.

"Don't worry, you won't be here long." A man dressed well came into sight. "You've been bought and paid for. It's only a matter of time before it's time to deliver you."

"Why?" Tank questioned.

The man waved a hand impatiently and ignored him. "I don't know what good it's going to do him. I told him she's dead. But no, listening to me is clearly not an option." He turned back to face them. "I'd apologize for the state you found your friend in, but he took out six of my men single handedly. There's only one other person I know who can do that, but she's dead. He had to be contained. It's ugly for business when merchandise fights back."

Lester stared at the man. "You do realize you're going to die."

"Not by your hand." He replied. "You're trained, but you don't scare me. I'm simply the messenger in this particular situation."

"Why are we being bought?" Tank asked.

"You're simply collateral. I don't imagine you'll be killed any time soon, so when you reach your final destination you'll probably be able to find your way out and back home." The man ran his hands through his hair, then froze. He stood up straighter and gave a slight grin. "Come out, come out wherever you are. I know you're there."

Tank, Lester and Bobby turned their attention towards a figure as they came out of the shadows.

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><p><strong>Please review! They bring smiles! :-)<strong>


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: So sorry it took me longer to post this chapter! It didn't start out well and I wanted it redone, so a rewrite was in order, as it must be sometimes! :-) **

**Disclaimer: Don't own JE's characters, just the ones I create for the story! Not making money, just playing!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 6**

Frederick watched as the woman stepped out of the shadows. Tall, lithe, she was still the same woman from years past. Her hair was cut to her chin and the curls begged to have a man's hands running through them. Her eyes, though, told him exactly who she was.

"Iris." He breathed. "Well well well."

"Hello, Frederick." She angled her head, watching him.

Bobby looked on from the cell. Something about her looked familiar. He couldn't get a clear shot of her, she had angled herself so they couldn't see her full profile. The black corset top showed enough of her backside so he could see a tattoo that looked like a flower. He narrowed his eyes trying to identify it. A quick look at Lester and Tank told him they were also watching her.

"We have some business to discuss," Iris said, her voice indicating an accent from Europe, though none of the men could place quite where. "In private."

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of subjecting you to this," he waved his hand around the dungeon. "Though, I'm sure you've seen worse."

Together they left the dungeon and the men found themselves alone. Tank spoke first. "Alright, so we have to figure a way out of here, and fast."

"Agreed." Bobby nodded. "I need to get a better look at Ranger's injuries and here isn't the place to do it."

"I don't really fancy becoming someone's sex slave."

Bobby and Tank both looked at Lester incredulously at his statement. Lester, realizing his mistake, said, "Alright, I don't want to be someone's unwilling sex slave."

"What makes you think that's what we were bought for?" Tank demanded.

Lester shrugged as he stood, trying to find a way out of their cell. "It's better than thinking of the alternative."

"Don't worry, boys," A familiar voice came out of the shadows, "We wouldn't let you be sold for sex slaves."

Bobby looked up at the shadows. Liliana walked out with an amused smirk on her face. She walked over to the cell and leaned against it. "Look at this. Four big bad Army Rangers have done got themselves caught and sold." She chuckled.

"Lil, what are you doing here?" Bobby asked.

"We got word that Ranger was in deep shit." She replied.

"We could've told you that ourselves." Lester retorted.

"Says the man sitting in the cell." Liliana shot back. "The intel you got didn't give you a lot to work with. The intel I got told me exactly what was going to happen to Ranger if something didn't happen fast."

"What do you know?"

"I know we're going to get you guys out of here and we're going to a safe place. Going back to Trenton right now is a bad idea." Liliana said.

"Shit, Steph's not going to like this." Lester said with a sigh.

"Stephanie is a big girl and can handle it." Liliana folded her arms over her chest and turned her back to them. She leaned back against the cell bars and waited for the signal she needed.

/\/\/\/\/\

Frederick and Iris walked into his study. As a smart man, Frederick knew better than to underestimate Iris. Usually, he would have had anyone who came to him disarmed until they left, but with her he knew better. Even without weapons, her own personal body was a weapon and one he didn't care to push.

"I admit, Iris, I wasn't expecting to see you ever again." He motioned to his maid to bring them drinks. They sat down at small table. Iris held herself almost regally. Her entire demeanor made him wary of angering her. He gave her half a grin, "You know with such a terrible car accident that was supposed to kill all occupants."

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying, Frederick?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Rodrigo has been swearing up and down you're alive."

"And where has he gotten that idea, I wonder?" She crossed her legs at the knee and looked at Fredrick inquiringly.

"Not from me," He said hastily. "I've been telling him to let go of you for the last year and a half."

"What a good friend you are." She said flatly.

"Hardly." Frederick smiled at her. "Do you really think I'm stupid, Iris? I've seen you work. I know full well that you planned your 'death' to get out. I admit I'm curious as to why." He leaned back in his chair and watched her, waiting for her to enlighten him. She simply stared at him with an impassive look. Finally he sighed. "You have my confidence, you know that."

"Of course, Frederick." She smiled this time. A man could get lost in her smile. "And I appreciate your discretion, especially since you know what would happen if it were broken."

A chill wrapped itself around his spine and he forced himself not to shiver. There were few people who made him nervous. Iris was at the top of that list. For his very survival, anything she told him would go to his grave with him. But he could easily admit outside of the threat of his life, he genuinely liked Iris. Outside of the deadliness she had, there was something very warm and genuine about her when she was being friendly.

"I would never dream of betraying you." He replied. "I have to ask, though, what brought you back?"

"You have something that belongs to me." Iris said. "Or rather, they belong to a friend. I'm here to return them."

"Them?"

"The Rangers." Iris said.

He shook his head. "Rodrigo paid me to catch them. I've done that. Now that I've got all four of them, they're going to go to him."

"This isn't up for negotiation, Frederick." Iris pinned him with a steely gaze. "They will be going with me."

"Damn it, Iris." Frederick hissed. "Do you know what Rodrigo will do to me if he finds out you've taken them?"

The maid came in carrying the tray containing tea and small sandwiches. For several moments, they sipped their drinks and ate the sandwiches. It had been a common practice for them years past when Iris came to him for information or for purchases. Despite the severity of the situation, the familiarity of it was a general comfort.

Iris took a small sip of her tea, set it down and looked at him long and hard. In soft voice, she said, "You'll have to ask yourself who scares you more, Fredrick."

Damn her, he thought. They both knew the answer to that. Rodrigo could threaten all he liked, but Frederick was his primary source for goods. He wouldn't be able to find someone else half as good if he killed him. Rodrigo would never follow through. Iris on the other hand…

"Let me put it to you this way," Iris spoke again, "you'll simply have to tell him they were kidnapped right out from under your nose."

He snorted. "Like he's going to believe me."

"He will." Iris smiled.

"What have you done?"

"Nothing that you need to worry yourself about." She replied. "After all, ignorance is bliss, isn't it?"

He shook his head slowly. "Iris, I've always been fond of you. You've been one of my favorite customers and it's been nice to see you again. But I have to wonder, if you're not slightly insane."

"Of course I'm slightly insane." She laughed. "To do what I do? Complete sanity is a crutch I can't afford."

"I have some other merchandise you might be interested in seeing since you're here." He tried to appease her.

"I think not." Iris rose. "Let's just say you've been given fair warning. The Rangers go with me."

"Iris." He stood and watched her. "What makes you think you can get them out of my estate without getting caught?"

She smirked. "What makes you think they're still here?"

Frederick felt his jaw drop and was unable to make himself do anything to pick it up. She walked over to him and with the tip of her finger, pushed his jaw closed. When he could make himself speak again all he could say was, "Well played, Iris. Well played."

She simply raised her eyebrows. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Just remember, Frederick. It was a kidnapping."

"Of course." He said, finally regaining his composure.

Iris walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Though, while I'm here, now that you mention it, I've heard tell of some interesting short swords you have on hand."

/\/\/\/\/\

"Hello boys!" A blonde lanky man greeted.

Tank and Lester were carrying Ranger and helped him into the back of the waiting vehicle. How Liliana had managed to get them out of there without anyone noticing was a miracle. At least they thought so until they saw the man waiting for them.

"Dash, you bastard," Lester grinned, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Even Rangers need saving," Dash chuckled. Dash was a tall man, muscular, though not heavily so the way Ranger and the Merry Men were. His was more subtle. One of his fields of expertise was electronics. If anyone could have made it capable for them to escape, Dash would be the one for them to count on. The only person who knew as much about security systems and disarming them with the finesse he did was Hector.

"I don't know, Dash." Liliana threw a smile over at the men. "Lester seemed to want to be sold into sexual slavery."

Dash looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded, "Well, he'd be at the right place; Frederick would be able to sell him for a damn good price!"

"Let's get going." Liliana said, "it's gonna be cramped, we need to lay Ranger down."

Dash walked around and laid the back seat in the SUV down. He helped the men get Ranger in there. He let out a low whistle. "Damn. He piss Frederick off?"

"It took a few men to take him down," Bobby replied, "As we hear it, he took men down with him."

"Good ole Ranger!" Dash grinned. "We can always count on him."

"Frederick isn't happy about the loss of men." Liliana said as they all squeezed into the SUV.

"I'm sure Rodrigo paid him handsomely." Dash said starting the SUV. He looked behind them.

"Go. She'll catch up." Lil said.

"You sure?"

"Who are you talking about?" Tank demanded.

"We needed a distraction to get you out of there." Dash answered taking off. "Only one person scares Freddie enough to let us successfully get you out without raising his own little militia."

"How is it we've never heard of Frederick?" Lester asked.

"You haven't, but I'm sure Ranger has." Liliana replied. "He runs an all-you-can-buy-outlet of sorts. Just ask Frederick. He'll get you anything you need. Though, last I'd heard he stopped short of selling people."

"We know why he captured them." Dash said. "Or, we have an extremely good idea as to why."

"Care to enlighten us?" Bobby demanded as he attempted to continue looking over Ranger in their cramped space.

"Now's not really the time." Liliana said.

"What's going on in Trenton?" Tank inquired. "How was Steph when you left?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. "I left about two and half weeks after you did." She said finally. "Steph was trying to keep her cool about all of you being gone." She didn't mention that she was pretty sure Stephanie had cracked one of Lil's ribs when they were sparring. None of the men would believe her unless they saw it for themselves.

"Wait, two and a half weeks?" Lester's brow furrowed. "Last I checked we'd only been gone a couple weeks."

"They probably tranquilized you for a few days." Dash said. "Keeps the people quiet when business is being conducted."

"Fantastic." Bobby muttered. "There's no telling how long Ranger's been out then."

"No, but there's a private hospital we'll get him checked out once we're safe." Liliana replied. "We can't leave him there, so you'll have to keep watch over him depending on what the doctor says."

"What's going on in Trenton that you can't take us back there?" Tank asked.

"It's not for us to explain." Dash said before Liliana could. "You'll have to wait and trust us."

The rest of the drive was in silence. Unspoken questions floated around the vehicle that were being left unanswered until the right time came. Liliana and Dash weren't going to be the ones to tell them anything.

Tank looked out the window, his thoughts gravitating toward Stephanie. If it wasn't safe for them to be there then it couldn't be safe for Stephanie to be there either. From the feed he had seen of her confrontation with Liliana there was more to their favorite Bombshell than met the eye. He had agreed to keep quiet. Whatever she was hiding could it have had something to do with Ranger? Running a hand over his bald head he shut his eyes. No, he was pretty sure he was overthinking things.

But then again…Stephanie hadn't been pleased to see Liliana. She'd made that clear enough on the video. So in all probability, it was entirely possible that whatever was going on had to do with her. Opening his eyes he saw Liliana watching him. The look on her face answered the question he wanted to ask; this definitely had to do with Stephanie. She cast a warning look at him, telling him to keep quiet. With a slight nod, he knew he would.

"Here we go." Dash pulled into a private airstrip. A private plane was waiting for them. He pulled the SUV into the hanger and hopped out. Liliana got out and strolled leisurely to the plane. The men took care of bringing Ranger up with them.

Upon entering the plane, Liliana smiled and shook her head. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough."

Tank and Bobby came in from behind her. Bobby nearly dropped Ranger upon seeing who else was in the plane. "Steph?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lester demanded, almost shouting.

"I told you we needed a distraction." Liliana said. "Though how you beat us here…"

Stephanie waved a dismissive hand. "Guess you'll have to come with next time so I can show you how it's done. Again."

Bobby and Lester looked at each other and simultaneously said, "What the fuck is going on?" They looked at Tank who simply wore a shit-eating grin on his face.

Dash chuckled and as he passed Steph he asked, "Did you do it?"

"Yeah, I did it."

/\/\/\/\/\

Rodrigo walked out of his room, tying his robe closed. His current whore had been very satisfying. She was still in bed, and he had warned her that if she wasn't still wet for him when he got back there would be dire punishments.

He headed toward his office, wanting to take care of business while his whore sweated in his bed. Making them nervous was his own aphrodisiac. One of many, but it always made him hard again—even if punishment was required.

Walking into the office, he turned on the desk lamp and stopped. On top of his desk was a bouquet of blue irises, with a card attached. Slow fury was beginning to boil his blood as he opened the envelope and read the card.

_You could never claim what is not yours. _

_Claiming what is mine will only bring my wrath. _

_Are you ready?_

The note crumpled in his hand.

"Iris!"

* * *

><p><strong>Please review! They make me smile! :-D<strong>


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, I'm just playing, and I'm not making money off them...**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 7**

Stephanie waited until the plane took off and they were safely in the air before venturing to the back of the plane where they had laid Ranger. The private bedroom held him safely. Bobby had already inspected him. All they knew so far was Ranger had been tranquilized. They would have to wait until they were in a safe place to find out how much he had been given and how long they would be out.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stared at his bruised and battered body. Her fingers traced his face gently. Even under the use of a tranquilizer, his head moved in her direction, as though sensing she was there. She moved a lock of his hair, noting the length it had grown since the last time she'd seen him. No doubt he would have cut it when he returned. He was sporting a beard, which made him look much more dangerous than anything she'd ever seen him as before. Lord help her, it turned her on drastically.

"My poor Batman," She murmured softly, "Look at what I've done to you." She leaned down and kissed him softly. "This time, I'll protect you."

Kissing him one last time, she walked out to the cabin where everyone else was seated. Bobby and Lester were eyeing her like they were trying to figure out an enigma. Tank was simply held a grin on his face. He clearly couldn't wait to see everything unfold.

"So," Liliana said lounging back against the plush seating. She picked up a pear and bit into it, "Do we need to turn around so you can kill Frederick?"

"No." Stephanie shook her head. "Much as I'd like to, too much will be given away to him if I do that. Plus, we need him as an informant."

"He kidnapped Ranger and had him beaten. He also kidnapped us." Lester growled. "And you have no problem letting him live? How the hell do you even know him?"

Stephanie glanced at him and ignored the last question, "We can't afford to kill Frederick. He has to stay alive."

"For what?"

Liliana and Steph shared a smile. One that held thousands of secrets and stories. Stephanie said, "To deliver a message."

Dash's voice came through the overhead, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this the co-pilot speaking. We'll be landing at our destination in a little over seven hours. If you'd like to take this opportunity to relax from your near sex-slave experience, please feel free to –shit!"

"Dash, get out of here!" A male voice ordered. "I've told you before to stay out of here!"

"You don't know how to have any fun, Preston!" Dash grumbled overhead before hanging up the speaker.

The women sat there snickering when he reemerged from the cockpit. He sauntered back toward them with mock anger toward the pilot. "Preston is never any fun, Steph. You need to talk to him."

"Someone has to keep you in your place, Dash." She replied. "We can't have you going off and doing things impulsively."

"Speaking of impulsive," Dash shot her a grin and reached into one of the front seats and held up a long box, "What did we tell you about impulse shopping?"

"I didn't buy those," Stephanie shrugged, "Iris bought those. It's not my fault she has a sword fetish."

"Though it's very similar to your show fetish." Lil mused aloud.

Stephanie simply gave another shrug and turned her attention out the window to watch as the scenery passed by.

During the next few hours, Bobby went back periodically to check on Ranger, though he still had yet to regain consciousness. Dash, Lester and Tank had taken up playing poker, while trading stories back and forth from some of the missions they went on.

Liliana was kicked back across the seats, her legs propped up on the back of them, reading _War and Peace_. Stephanie looked at her and shook her head. "How many times have you read that?"

"Oh, I think I'm on my seventh or eighth round." She said waving a hand in a casually dismissive manner. "I just finished _Gone With the Wind_ a few weeks ago."

"You and your classics." Stephanie laughed and closed her eyes momentarily. With a sigh, she stood up and walked up to the cockpit. "Hey, Preston." She shut the door and sat beside him in the co-pilot's seat. Usually Dash would be there, but right now, Preston didn't want any company.

"Hey." He had the autopilot on and was currently watching the sky around them. "Any sign of movement from Sleeping Beauty back there?"

"Not yet. Whatever Frederick knocked him out with would have to be strong enough to take down an elephant." She replied.

"True. He'll probably be out for some days then when he does wake, he'll have plenty of pain to deal with." Preston glanced at her. "You gonna tell him when he's awake?"

She nodded slowly. "I don't really have a choice anymore do I? I came back."

"Only partially. If you came back completely you'd be signing another contract." He leaned back and stretched. "You didn't do that. You came back because you knew he was in trouble."

"I couldn't leave him to Rodrigo." Stephanie looked out at the clouds. "Rodrigo is..."

"I know." Preston reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "I remember, but truthfully, in the last five years, all of us have looked for ways to stop him, and you are probably the only one who will ever be able to. Whether Rodrigo believes it or not, you are his weakness. Can you play on that against him?"

"He took what's mine." Stephanie said. She met his eyes and he saw the predator in them. "He'll pay for it."

She stood and left. Preston smiled to himself. While she was only going to be back for a short time, to him, it was good to see her back in action again. Liliana hadn't gone into detail about what Stephanie was doing back in Trenton, but from the way she spoke, she didn't think Stephanie was completely happy about her life.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Plum Residence." Helen answered her phone.

"Mrs. Plum, this is Hal at RangeMan," He said, trying to remain completely calm. "Is Mr. Plum available?"

"Yes he is." She called for Frank.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Plum, this is Hal." He introduced himself. "I was wondering if you've by any chance spoken or seen Stephanie in the last few days?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't." Frank replied, mentally crossing his fingers. "Is there a situation my wife and I need to be aware of?"

"I'm not sure," Hal admitted. "I just came to the office and found an email from her saying she would be out of town for a few days and that she'd contact me. We let her alone at first because we thought she might need time to herself with Ranger and the Core Team gone, but now we're a little concerned."

"If she said she'll contact you, then she will." Frank told him. "If I hear from her, I'll make sure she calls."

"Thank you sir. It's just with Stephanie's history, we worry."

Frank liked him. The man was willing to admit that he and the rest of RangeMan worried about his little girl like she was their sister. He could hear the brotherly concern in his voice. It was comforting, though that wouldn't do much good right now. He was also sure that the men didn't want to have to face Ranger if something happened to Stephanie and they hadn't been there to do anything to help her.

They hung up and Frank faced his wife. She held a towel in her hands, wringing it, trying to find a way to calm herself. "I don't like this, Frank." She looked at him with tears in her eyes, clearly terrified of what could happen to their daughter.

Wordlessly, he took her into his arms and held her. They stayed that way until they heard Edna come into the house calling about not missing a viewing later in the evening. She came into the kitchen and found her daughter and son-in-law embracing. The look on Helen's face was one she recognized from years past. There was only one thing that put it on her face.

Edna put a hand on her daughter's arm. "She's Wonder Woman. Whether she realizes it or not, she became her childhood hero. She's going to come home."

Helen smiled at her mother. "Thanks, Mother."

"Who knows, maybe The Package will be waiting for her when she gets back." She winked at both of them before sashaying herself out of the room. "Of course if she doesn't want him, I'll take him. Hope he can keep up with me!"

"You need a mental home!" Frank hollered after her, silently thanking her for comforting Helen. He could only do so much, and knew that there were times when a mother's words were needed.

"Have you talked to Reggie?" Helen asked resting her head on her husband's chest.

"Yes." He kissed the top of her head. "She hasn't signed anything. Whatever she's doing is related to something from the past. And to be honest, probably Ranger. He's assured me that he believes there's no reason for her not to come home alive. The training she's got will keep her alive."

"Well," Helen looked at her husband, kissed him and stepped out of his embrace, "Whoever decided to piss our youngest child off is really going to regret it when she gets hold of him!" She glanced around her kitchen. "I think I'll make spaghetti for dinner tonight. How's that sound?"

"A taste of Italy, huh?" He caught her around the waist and brought her back to him. "Sounds good. Can I have a Hungarian dessert?" Helen looked up at him and caught the wicked gleam on his face.

She giggled. "_Frank!_ You're a bad man!"

"Helen, you have no idea."

/\/\/\/\/\

They landed and loaded into SUVs. Lester was more than curious as to why they had landed in Montana instead of somewhere closer to Trenton, but he was going to trust Liliana and Stephanie. Bobby was busy keeping an eye on Ranger to pay a lot of attention to their surroundings. Liliana and Stephanie were driving in front of them with Preston and Dash drove them.

"Dash, how do you know Steph?" Lester asked, once again trying to find out some answers.

"Long story."

"Care to share?"

"No."

"Why are we in Montana?"

"Who would look for you in Montana?"

Tank choked on a laugh. He knew Dash had a good point. No one would think of looking for them in a place they had no ties to.

"Where exactly in Montana are we going to be?"

"About ten miles from the border to Canada." Dash answered.

"You really don't want to give me any information do you?" Lester glared at him.

"It's not my information to share man," He shot them all a look, "It's up to her what she wants you to know, if she wants you to know anything." He motioned to the SUV in front of them. "Right now, she's just trying to make sure we get to a doctor so Ranger can get checked out."

Lester wanted to glare at him, but knew he had to wait until Stephanie was feeling more talkative. He looked at Tank. "What do you know?"

"As much as you." Came the reply.

He scowled and turned to look out the window. He hated not having enough information to know the situation. They had been driving for over an hour. He was about to ask another question when the SUV in front of them signaled to turn off. Now, he was more curious about their destination. The mountainous terrain was beautiful, making him wish he were a photographer so he could take pictures of everything.

They seemed to be going upward and downward in a spiral of loops and curves that would have made him nauseous if he were the type of person to get motion sick.

Dash's cell rang. "Yeah…mm-hmm. Yep, he'll meet us there…duh…no!...fine…" He shut the phone. "Bobby, we've got a private doctor coming out to meet us. He'll help you with Ranger."

"He can be trusted?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, Dr. Phillips. You trained with him in the medic field, didn't you?" '

Bobby nodded relieved to know someone he trained with and trusted would be helping to see how long Ranger would be down.

"Shit!" Lester exclaimed from his seat, staring out the front window.

In front of them, behind a gate, towered above them a large mansion. It looked like it could house all of RangeMan with ease and still have plenty of room left over. The gate slowly opened, allowing them in. The men stared up at that mansion as it became larger as they neared it.

They parked their vehicles on the gravel drive in front of the house. Liliana bounded out of the SUV with a bright grin on her face. "Welcome to our abode!"

"Whose abode?" Stephanie asked mildly as she stepped out.

"You really wanna have your explanations now?" Liliana replied sweetly. She simply laughed with Stephanie gave her the finger.

"Come on," Stephanie motioned to them, "We've got a room for Ranger set up and Doctor Phillips will meet us here soon."

Tank observed her for a moment or two, noting the way her shoulders seem to relax with the sight of the house. It almost looked like a weight had lifted off her. He shook his head as he went to help Bobby with Ranger.

Stephanie wasted no time in showing them the rom they were putting Ranger in. The massive bedroom could easily be seen as the master bedroom and was styled with a comforting elegant feel to it. The dark cherry wood furniture was spread out. The large bed contained a dark green bedspread set. Something told Bobby this room was very Stephanie. It was subtle in its beauty, yet completely comforting nonetheless.

"He'll be fine here," Stephanie told them. "Let's get you guys something to eat. The food on the plane couldn't have been enough to fill you."

Leading them through the house, she didn't give them the opportunity to look around. They could do that later. Right now she wanted to make sure they had food in their bodies.

As they neared the kitchen they heard a voice off to the side yelling, "Ha! Take that you stupid Army Ranger! Think you can beat me? Woot! Ha-ha-ha! Sucker!"

In a voice that showed she'd had this conversation often before, Stephanie called out, "Reika, what have I told you about bullying the Army Rangers?"

"Not to." Came a sullen reply.

"Oh, but Steph, she's not bullying any Army Ranger." Liliana said from the entryway to the large spacious kitchen where she was already getting food out. "She's bullying Stavros."

"Still?" Stephanie turned and saw Reika coming out of the den. "It's been five years! You two are still going at it?"

Reika, a Japanese-American woman, shrugged and ran a hand through her short cropped hair. "What can I say? He's a jackass and someone needs to knock him down a notch—ooo! Lester!" She squealed in delight and bounded over to him, jumping on him and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Reika, you're looking as beautiful as ever!" Lester laughed.

"And you are looking so delectable!" She crooned. "Do you still have your tongue ring? Oh, do you know what you did to me with that?" Reika's eyes glossed over as she remembered the fun times they'd had together.

"Sorry, but it was for the job, it came out before I got home."

"Oh, what a pity." She sighed.

"And you're right, Stavros is a jackass. Ranger knocked him down a peg or two a few times." Lester said.

"What were you fighting with him over?" Stephanie asked.

"Call of Duty." Reika answered.

Stephanie could only shake her head and smile. Reika looked like gothic punk, with various piercings, and heavy eye makeup, but she could work computers and play games with the best of them. Dash and Reika had always been their computer gurus when it came to their missions.

Lester set Reika down and looked at Stephanie. "So, care to explain things now?"

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><p><strong>Please review! They make me smile! Promise :-)<strong>


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: I have to apologize for how long it took to get this out. I just sort of lost my mojo for a bit, but it's coming back :-) Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Means so much to me! **

**Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing, nor am I making money**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 8**

Rodrigo released the girl's hair. He had just spent the last several hours taking his anger at Iris out on her. She was well trained to obey when he required it and to pretend a struggle when he wanted to fight something—or someone. It did little for easing his fury toward his former lover. When he found her he would pay her back the years of humiliation he had suffered because of her. She would beg, he decided. And he would rape her then kill her.

The girl fell onto the bed, cowering in mock fear. He could smell her arousal and rewarded her with a sick grin. She was smart. He would keep her for now. Rodrigo planned to continue, but his door was being pounded on in an incessantly annoying manner.

Stalking to the door he ripped it open and glared at the offender. They all knew better than to interrupt him. Bravely the other man met his gaze, "Sir, you've got a call."

"You interrupt me for a phone call?" Rodrigo snarled.

"It's from Frederick." Was the reply. "He claims it's important—about merchandise."

There was only one reason that bastard would be calling him. Shooting another glare at the messenger, along with a mental note to find a suitable punishment for him so others would learn to only take messages when he was unavailable, Rodrigo grabbed a robe and paused at the door. He looked back at his victim. "If you move from your position I will whip you." He threatened.

She nodded at him in fear and he smiled with satisfaction, leaving the room. Storming down the hall to his office, he snatched the phone off the desk, "What is so important you could not leave a message, Frederick?"

"The Rangers." He replied, no fear lacing his voice. There was something there, but Rodrigo couldn't place it. It sounded like smugness, but he cast that to the side. Frederick wouldn't be so foolish to sound like that speaking to him.

"I will come for them when I am good and ready," Rodrigo growled.

"Good luck finding them, then." Frederick replied. This time, he sounded cheerful.

_Smug bastard._

"You lost them?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say I lost them per se, it's more that they were simply already retrieved."

"By who?"

"At the time, I assumed they were your men." Frederick sounded confused. "But then you sent one of your own to check on them and suddenly I was very aware of the duplicity."

"You let my property get stolen right out from under you?" Rodrigo bellowed. "Your estate is 'supposedly' one of the most secure places and you let someone wander off with four men that I needed?"

"This is really why I stay out of human trafficking," Frederick said as though he were talking to himself, "It just gets messy and things like this happen. Tell me, Rodrigo, are you interested in some antique vases? I have some that will match the décor of your home over there in Spain—"

"I do not want any antique fucking vases, you moron!" Rodrigo's voice continued to rise. "I want those Rangers!"

"I can't help you with that." He replied. "It's astounding really. There's only one person I know who could actually break into my estate with no help at all, yet she's dead."

Thinking of the flowers that had been left on his desk merely hours prior, he growled, "I've told you repeatedly: She. Is. Not. Dead." A thought occurred to him. "Since you've lost my Rangers, then I think your sister would profit from a visit to Spain."

"I think not, Rodrigo."

"You're not in a position to argue now, are you?" Rodrigo smiled cruelly. "I expect her to be here within forty-eight hours, Frederick."

"Not happening."

"You can send her willingly, or I will rip her from you and you'll never get her back." He threatened.

Then Frederick did the unthinkable. He laughed. He _laughed_. At him. "Rodrigo, you can't touch my sister. You'll never find her."

"Don't think you won't pay for this loss!" he threatened.

"Rodrigo, good luck finding your Rangers. You might consider finding men who can identify them in a much more creative manner than intimidation. It'd make things much easier so you don't lose anyone else."

Rodrigo slammed the phone down and glared at it. A boiling fueled his blood and he was no longer able to hold still. He yanked the phone out of the wall and threw it across the room. There was no one stupid enough to challenge him. No one but Iris.

Iris.

He glanced at the wilting flowers still sitting on his desk. Frederick was right, Iris would have been the only one able to get in and get those men back without anyone suspecting anything. The other man believed her dead, which was just fine with him. It wouldn't do to go around looking like a lunatic, Rodrigo reasoned, popping his neck as he walked out of the office.

He kept his pace calm and purposeful as he went back to his bedroom. He couldn't wait to get his hands on her and wring her neck completely. Once in his room, his gaze fell onto the girl who had dutifully stayed exactly where he left her. She stared at him with a calmness that told him she would do exactly what he wanted. It was a good thing she was paid well he decided as thoughts of all the ways he was going to use her tonight flooded his mind.

"You are going to fight." He told her softly as he stalked toward her. "And you are going to beg for mercy when I overpower you. Do you understand?"

/\/\/\/\/\

Back in his own home, Frederick smiled as he hung up his phone. Iris would have enjoyed the show, he thought. Rodrigo had clearly been right when he claimed she was alive, but he had obviously underestimated her. This was a war he wanted to watch, to see the outcome, knowing that it would be astounding.

As far as business was concerned…well, he was paid very handsomely by many others that Rodrigo's lack of business wouldn't even be a blip on his radar. It was time to cut his losses. To protect himself and his sister.

Frederick glanced out the window at the sunset and wondered how Esmeralda was doing. Hopefully she could call him later.

/\/\/\/\/\

Lester walked along the halls of the mansion looking at pictures, trying to diminish his bad mood. Stephanie had refused to answer, and conveniently enough Dr. Phillips had arrived not even a minute after he demanded an explanation. He tried to stall her and let only Bobby and Phillips go see Ranger, but the look Stephanie gave him had him dropping his arm almost out of self-preservation. This was a look he had never seen from her before. He wasn't even sure how he felt about it.

"There you are." He glanced over his shoulder. Reika bounded up to him. "What do you think of the place?"

"Great place," Lester smiled and wrapped an arm around her, "This had to set you back quite a bit."

"It's Stephanie's, not mine." She replied without thinking. Then slapped a hand to her mouth staring at him wide-eyed. "Oops."

"How does Stephanie afford something like this on a bounty hunter's pay?"

"Uh, well, she's owned it for about eight years. We stay here and pay the utilities since we're the ones mainly living here." Reika looked slightly ashamed of herself for admitting something that she was pretty sure Stephanie didn't want anyone to know about. "It's got a great lake in the back, have you seen it? It's awesome to jog around. One of the best work outs."

"Reika, I need to know who Stephanie is." Lester said. "What can you tell me?"

An unspoken bond snapped into place. She gave him a long look. "I can't tell you anything she doesn't want you to know."

Biting his tongue to keep from lashing out at her, he turned his attention back to the pictures on the wall. Then stared at one of them. It was at Fort Benning, the very place he, Bobby, Tank and Ranger had trained for the Rangers. Stephanie and Liliana were in it, on a track, wearing shorts and tank tops. They were sweaty, obviously having just finished working out, hair was sticking to their faces. They had arms wrapped around one another's shoulders with wide grins on their faces.

Studying it, he could see that Stephanie couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen at the most. Her normally long hair was cut off just below her chin, much like her hair had been cut when they saw her on the plane.

"Bomber was in the Army?" Lester shook his head trying to clear it. That didn't make any sense. The background search they had done on her gave no indication of any military background. In fact, it had only indicated a trip to college for a business degree.

"Um, kinda." Reika said shifting around nervously, "It's a little complicated. So not in the sense you were in the Army."

Lester didn't reply, but continued walking down the hall looking at the different pictures. In all of them he could see a progression in Stephanie's age and in her facial features. In the beginning she looked happy, carefree, and ready to fight the world. As the pictures progressed he saw the happy and carefree slowly fade into something hard. She looked like she was fighting the world. There were a few pictures where he saw her laughing with everyone, and looking like the Bomber he knew.

One picture caught his attention and held it. It was in black and white. The shot was in the rain, and he could see Stephanie against a building, kneeling down. The rain had her hair plastered around her head. She was glancing behind her, looking at something, or someone, with a gun in her hand. The sharp features of the photo made him realize they didn't know Stephanie at all.

"Who are you, Stephanie Plum?" He wondered aloud.

"She's the person you know." Reika answered.

He shook his head. "Not according to this," He motioned to the pictures, "This indicates she's someone else entirely. And no one wants to talk."

"Lester," Reika waited until he looked at her. "You know the loyalty you have to Ranger? That you'd never betray the trust you have from him?"

"Yeah."

"That's the same thing we have with Steph. We love her and we've got her back. Everything that happened, well, we'll keep it on the down low for her. We're not going to betray her trust." Reika walked up to him and hugged him. "I know it's hard, seeing someone you've grown to love like family be someone else completely, but I assure you, the person she _is_, is the person you've seen in Trenton."

"How do you know who she is there?"

Reika shrugged. "I don't, but I know who she is. I know who she lost and who she's struggled to reclaim."

"Do you know how cryptic you sound?"

"Very cryptic." She laughed. "Come on. We'll go find everyone else. We should find out how bad Ranger is."

They started leaving the hall, then Stephanie appeared. "There you two are."

"How's the Man?" Reika smiled.

"Heavy tranq." She replied. "Bobby and Phillips believe it's just a matter of hours before it wears off and he wakes. He's gonna be in a lot of pain, but we've got some painkillers on hand to help."

"He won't take it." Lester replied, feeling himself grow cold toward Stephanie.

"I know, but I hope to convince him." Stephanie sighed softly and looked down. She felt awful about everything going on right now.

"Once he finds out about you, I doubt he'll give you the time of day." Lester said.

Stephanie's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing. Reika's eyes widened and she wisely took several steps back. "You got something to say, Santos?"

"Ranger's never lied to you, yet your whole life has been a web of lies to him." He snapped. "Care to explain that?"

"It's between me and Ranger, not you and me." She replied, turning to walk away.

Reika watched in fascination as Lester unwisely grabbed Stephanie's arm. She knew Lester wasn't trying to be mean exactly, more that he was just trying to protect his friend. "You think I'm going to let you walk around fooling all of us you've got another thing coming, Plum."

Faster than he could blink, Stephanie had Lester pinned to the ground, unable to get out of her grip. She knelt beside him. "I'm going to tell you this once, Lester, and don't forget it. Do not trivialize my feelings for Carlos. He's the very air I breathe and I won't have you trying to make it less than what it is. You don't have to like the situation we're in, but you will not sit there and presume you know everything about it."

"We deserve an…explanation!" He gasped out.

"You'll get one when I'm damn good and ready." She hissed and released him.

Lester slowly picked himself up off the floor. Reika shot him a sympathetic look. He turned and saw Dash and Tank standing at the other end of the hall.

Dash spoke first, "You might want to give her some slack, Santos. She just walked back into her personal hell for all of you."

"She's always had our back, Santos," Tank told him. "Whatever her secrets are, the least we can do is respect them."

He scowled and slowly guilt set in. "Damn it…I'll go find her and apologize."

"We'll find her in the kitchen, I think." Dash said.

As a group, they headed down to the kitchen. The closer they got, they heard arguing. Entering the large kitchen, Stephanie and Liliana were facing off. To the side of them was Reggie and another general.

"Damn it, Steph!" Liliana yelled, "I'm not letting you do this again!"

"It's not up to you!" She snarled back. "I don't have a choice this time."

"What's going on?" Dash asked.

"She's going to sign another contract!" Liliana snarled. "And I'll chop her hand off first!"

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><p><strong>Please Review! They bring me smiles! :-) Promise!<strong>


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. There's been a drop in the reviews, but the holidays are here, so it's understandable! Those who've had the chance, thanks so much! Everyone who's kept up with it, thanks for reading as well!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, just playing!**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 9**

Reika looked back and forth between the two women. Stephanie's entire demeanor was calm. The look on her face said she hardly believed Liliana do anything. Liliana looked ready to jump across the kitchen island and throttle Stephanie. Only Bobby who was standing close to her seemed prepared to grab her and attempt to restrain her if needed.

"Liliana, you know nothing about this contract." Stephanie said calmly, her voice leaving no room for argument. "This isn't up to you."

"We helped you get out!" Liliana raged against her. "And now you want to come back! Don't you think you're being hypocritical?"

"This coming from the person who couldn't believe I sat down with two skips to watch a marathon before taking them to be re-bonded." She shot back.

"I wanted you back, not to sign another contract!"

Stephanie gave an un-amused laugh. "What did you think would happen if I did?" Not waiting for an answer, she turned and led the two generals out of the kitchen. Everyone stood there watching to see what Liliana was going to do.

"Well…" Reika gave a slight shrug, "At least we got the band back together!"

Bobby, Tank and Lester gave her questioning looks. Dash rolled his eyes affectionately and ruffled Reika's hair. "I'm sure we'll see Steph down in the music room before long."

"Let's just hope she's not doing it at 3 am again." A man walked in through a side door.

"Braden!" Reika smiled. "When did you get back?"

"About twenty minutes ago." Braden looked guilty as he cast a glance in the direction he was sure Stephanie had gone. "I was hoping to clean things up on the Shelby before Steph sees it." He saw the guys and grinned. "Well, fuck, when I heard Steph was going to Colombia to do some saving, I didn't realize it was going to be to get your happy asses."

Tank's deep laugh boomed out across the house. "Braden, last I saw you, Ranger was about to have you shipped to Siberia in your boxers and a knife."

"What can I say, my witting charm undid him?" He laughed.

Lester clapped him on the back, "You should be glad he's upstairs unconscious."

"I have no worries." Braden replied confidently.

"Feeling brave man?" Bobby smiled.

"More than I should when it comes to dealing with Ranger." He chuckled. He looked back at his house mates. "So…who's cooking dinner?"

"I will." Reika shooed them. "Sit, sit. I can whip up a quick stir fry, or some pizza, what's the vote for?"

"Pizza." Seemed to come from everyone. She giggled and bounced into the kitchen. The men, and Liliana sat at the dining room table where they could continue to talk and include Reika in the conversation. Before she finished sitting, Liliana walked to the fridge and grabbed several bottles of beer.

"You gonna share, or hog them all to yourselves while you contemplate chopping Steph's arm off?" Preston asked as he walked in.

"You guys are worse than nosey little old ladies." Lil grumbled as she handed off the beer bottles.

"Hardly," Reika mixed water, yeast and flour together, "Quiet isn't exactly your forte when it comes to arguing something you're passionate about."

Liliana scowled, "You guys want her signing another one?"

"Of course not," Braden leaned back in his chair. "But we've kept her protected for a long time."

"Fat lot of good that did us. He found her."

"Yes he did." Braden agreed. "Now it's time to settle things. Be a little realistic, Lil. There's only one person who can stop him, and you know it."

"What about your friend Iris?" Lester spoke up. "You've mentioned her a few times, and Bombshell seems to know her." When he received startled and confused looks from the others at the table, he looked at his beer bottle then back at them continuing, "Look, in the past you guys have praised her for her abilities. You've said she's the best of the best. Better than Ranger, at least you think so. Why not call her back and see if she can help with this little problem?"

Liliana had begun picking at the label on her beer bottle. "It's up to Stephanie if Iris gets involved."

"Look, I love Bomber, really I do," Lester said, "but she's getting involved in something none of us want her in. Call in your friend so she can be the one to do this instead of her."

"That's really not possible." Preston told him.

"Sure it is. Pick up the phone and dial her."

Reika manipulated the dough the way she wanted as she watched the conversation, Lester's eyes caught hers and she looked back down at the dough. Damn, but she knew he could make her talk if he put his mind to it. She had to stay strong.

Lester began speaking again, "Look, just tell Steph that we need her to call—"

"Stephanie is Iris." Liliana snapped.

"What?" All three Merry Men looked at her.

"Stephanie is Iris." She repeated. "Iris is Stephanie. Two very different people inhabiting the same body with no happy middle ground."

"Iris is the one who came to get us." Bobby stated. "Shit it makes so much sense now." He thought back to Iris's appearance in the dungeons. He knew he had recognized her. Maybe not seeing her face, but something had told him he knew her. That they all knew her.

Tank drank his beer and contemplated the stories they'd heard about Iris over the years from this group. Iris was a woman that Preston and Braden had told Ranger even he couldn't handle her. She was pure fire. The stories…well, when he thought about them now, they fit Stephanie. Stephanie herself was fiery, in a way that Ranger could never control, but he knew his friend, and he would never try to control her.

He had many more questions, but something held him back from asking. He wanted to know more, but remembering how protective Stephanie was of this particular bit of her life, he would wait to see what she told them. He liked to believe that despite this secret, he did know her, and that she wanted to talk to Ranger first. It was the way she worked, at least that's what he assumed.

Liliana watched as the former Rangers looked contemplative at the idea of Stephanie being Iris and smiled a little. The type of person Iris was contrasted with the type of person Stephanie was. It had been a large part in why Stephanie had needed to get out years ago. The memories of those last months flew through her mind and it made her want to go and stop Stephanie from signing on to anything that would cause a relapse.

Knowing she wouldn't get away with doing that, she settled for leaving the table and walking out the back door. The large lake loomed before her as she made her way to the dock. Now that Stephanie was back, she wondered how long this particular job would go. Secretly she wanted it to go on for months. She had missed the camaraderie she and Stephanie shared. They had always worked best together. She hadn't lied to Stephanie when she told her anyone else they brought in was never up to the par Stephanie had set.

No, she thought sadly as she leaned against a pole at the end of the dock, Stephanie and Ranger were the best of their particular worlds, and to replace either of them was extremely difficult and highly unlikely. Of course, now that Ranger and his men were here, perhaps dealing with Rodrigo would be much more manageable this time.

She hoped so. Someone had to help Stephanie tame Iris and Ranger was the only person who had the ability to do it.

/\/\/\/\/\

Stephanie locked the doors to the study and faced the two generals. Reggie and General Cruise. She had never grown comfortable enough to call the General by his first name. Mostly, she had always thought of ways to torture him because of what a hard ass he'd been during her training.

"You two couldn't wait until Liliana wasn't in the room before bringing up a contract?" She asked.

General Cruise looked amused. "Plum, she took one look at me and knew why I was here."

She sighed. "Fair enough. Have a seat." She directed them to two chairs sitting in front of a large mahogany desk. She took her place behind it, sinking into the comfortable leather chair that had been waiting for her. She gave General Cruise a long, hard look. "Are you really here to have me sign another contract?"

"Of sorts." He admitted handing her a folder. "This one is unusual for us, but quite frankly, you're the only person we know who has a remote possibility of succeeding at this."

Stephanie looked at the contents of the folder and stared at it in surprise. The contracts she had signed in the past usually kept her for two years at a time, but this one…this one was for one specific mission, with no way to call her back for any other reason. The pay would be pretty impressive, but that barely crossed her interest.

She gave her attention back to the two men. "Why this?"

"Stephanie, Rodrigo targeted Ranger to get to Iris." Reggie sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I've talked to Ranger in the past, and he admitted there's a woman he loves, but due to his lifestyle and past—"

"Yeah, yeah," She waved a dismissive hand at him, "Heard it, and proved him wrong."

"But it's your past that you two are going to have to worry about right now." He continued. "The two of you are both very skilled and can keep one another alive, but Rodrigo was able to take Ranger unaware, which in itself is highly unusual. You know that."

"We know you wanted out, Steph," Cruise said, "We gave that to you. You had fulfilled your promise plus any additional contracts you had signed. We're willing to continue to honor that request, we just want you to consider doing this one last bit."

Stephanie sighed. "I don't know. I'm not going to lie to either of you, but last time I dealt with Rodrigo, it was bad. You know that. You saw what happened."

"We're not disputing it's going to be tough, Stephanie." Reggie said. "But truthfully, you are the only one who can get close to Rodrigo to stop him."

"He wants to kill me." She said. "The contacts that I've got in his employ say he rages against Iris all the time. Claims she's still alive."

"Yes, well, perhaps leaving him a bouquet of irises wasn't the best move on your part." Cruise retorted.

Stephanie smirked. "He started it. He took what's mine. I don't share." The looks they gave her made her laugh. "Oh come on, I'm sure he figured out who I am well before we knew it. I could feel it back in Trenton. Either he's been to the states and was following me around, or he's had someone doing it for him." She picked up a pen and tapped it on the desk. "This is going to be the only one, right? You can't suddenly pop up at my door and say 'Let's go kick ass'?" She scanned through the fine print as she spoke.

"Nope, this is completely locked for this sole mission." Cruise told her. "Signing this just helps you make sure all your resources are still available to you."

"They already are." She had made sure of that the moment she got that envelope in the mail.

"Consider it extra insurance." Reggie said. "The same thing applies once it's over though—if you're interested in doing anything else we can always—"

"You know that's unlikely." Stephanie cut him off. "I'm staying to protect what's mine, and to teach Rodrigo a lesson. After that, I'm gone." She signed her name at the bottom of the contract.

Cruise stood and took the file from her. "I'll wait in the car." He knew Reggie wanted a moment with his 'niece'.

Stephanie turned her chair so she was looking outside. She could see Lil standing on the dock and knew she was simmering. Reggie was still in the study. "What did you tell my parents when you saw them?"

"That there's no reason for you not to come home alive." He replied walking over to stand next to the window.

"How do you feel knowing you've lied to them?"

"I didn't lie to them." He faced her and leaned back against the window. "You have no reason not to come home alive."

"Rodrigo is—"

"No match for you. Especially now that you have Ranger."

"I don't know that he's going to want to help me after this." Steph's voice was soft, almost whispering, but Reggie heard her.

"He'll help you. That man loves you and anyone with eyes can see it. I've told you before, if there's someone you want to hold your secrets, you can count on Ranger." He smiled, "Plus, he's not going to leave your side when he finds out your Iris. He's heard stories of you for some time."

Stephanie groaned, "I can only imagine what they've told him."

"Just enough that he asked me once if you were still in the field. He almost looked disappointed when I told him no."

Stephanie didn't answer. She just looked back out the window. Reggie reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Stephanie, Ranger is going to be your biggest asset and ally in this mission."

/\/\/\/\/\

"Smells good, Reika," Stephanie said half an hour later as she finally emerged from the study. She badly wanted to go check on Ranger but knew she needed to talk to Liliana first. She walked out to the dock and leaned against the other pole. Anyone inside the house would see them on opposite ends of the dock. To an outsider, it appeared they were completely ignoring one another.

"It's a short contract." She said when Liliana refused to say anything.

"How short?"

"Just after Rodrigo. Then I'm done."

"There's a loophole in there."

"No loophole."

"Shit." Liliana looked relieved, "They must be desperate to get rid of him."

"Makes sense. Rodrigo can make a lot of countries squirm." Stephanie answered. "At this point it's more of a world favor than a country favor."

"Can you handle doing things again?" Lil looked at her this time. "You'll have to train again."

"I know." She nodded. "Good thing I've got a full gym in the basement."

"Full of all sorts of interesting weapons to play with, " Liliana laughed, then got serious. "You talk to the boys yet?"

"They weren't in the dining room when I went in there. I imagine the game room is in use right now."

"They know you're Iris."

"Thanks." Came the dry reply.

"It wasn't intentional." Liliana looked at her and shifted from foot to foot. "Lester just kept wanting to call Iris and have her come in and take over for you…"

Stephanie nodded in understanding. She could see why there had to be a stop to that thought and fast. Liliana kept talking though, "But they don't know how, or why, or anything. I think they just realize it makes sense if you are her, based on a lot your habits."

"I'm not Iris." Stephanie said absently.

"Yeah, you are." Lil gave her a firm look. "But you're you at the same time."

Ignoring the statement, Stephanie looked back out at the lake where a thunderstorm was rolling in. "Reika is nearly done with dinner. We should go in and gather the men."

"Yeah, ok—hey, if you're back does that mean you're in charge again?" Lil asked.

"Yes."

"Damn."

"Oh, and you remember that comment you made about having slept with Ranger in the past?" Stephanie smiled evilly and stepped closer to her.

"Um…yes?" Liliana tried to take a step back.

Stephanie walked into the kitchen to the smell of deliciousness. Reika made wicked pizzas, she thought. Pino's would go out of business if her friend was ever to go into business in Trenton.

"Dinner smells great, Reika." Stephanie told her.

"Thanks…hey, where's Lil?" Reika asked knowing Stephanie had gone out to talk to her.

She shrugged and walked out of the kitchen. Reika raised her eyebrows and went back to finishing up the pizzas. The backdoor opened again and Liliana walked in, dripping wet.

"What happened to you?" Reika gasped out.

"Let's just say Stephanie didn't appreciate me advertising the fact that Ranger and I slept together in the past." She replied.

Reika pressed her hand to her mouth in an effort to keep from laughing. "Go change before we eat." She turned and walked out of the kitchen to go let the men know dinner was about to be done.

She didn't get far before arms reached out and forcefully yanked her against the wall, pinning her there. The feel of cold steel against her temple made Reika freeze all movement as she looked up at the person who had gotten hold of her.

"Ranger!"

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! Promise! :-)<strong>


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! All of you have kept me writing happily! Now, bear in mind, I'm probably taking some drastic liberties with our government and military here, so if I insult anyone, I apologize now. :-)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own them, just playing with them (not even making money...)**

**Masquerade**

**Chapter 10**

Reika gasped out as she was lifted off her feet and held against the wall by her neck. Ranger looked deadly. "Ranger!" She gasped out. "It's me, Reika!"

He simply pressed the gun against her temple harder. He didn't believe her. Shit, she thought desperately. Stephanie would kill her if she hurt him. "Stephanie!" She shrieked as best as she could with Ranger's hand wrapped around her throat. It was moments like this that she problems being so skinny. She was easy to throw—experience had taught her that.

"Ranger—shit—," Reika grabbed at his hands trying to loosen his hold, to no avail. "You're not in danger—you're safe!" Black was dancing at the edge of her vision. Still, the man didn't respond. He simply gave her a cold detached look that told her he had woken up with no knowledge of where he was and was acting on survival mode. Clearly, he thought she was the enemy and had no problem killing her if she was the threat.

"You know me, dude!" She tried again, "Remember Amsterdam? You found me and Lester in the Red Light District. You swore you'd send us to the Sahara for that mission since we pimped you out as a prost—" She was cut off by the slight squeeze to her throat. She met his eyes. Finally! Recognition.

"What's going on?" He demanded in gravely voice.

"Reika? Why are you shouting?" Stephanie walked in and saw Ranger standing in there. "Carlos!"

"Babe." He dropped Reika, who went down to her knees gasping for breath. Damn, she hated it when shit like this happened.

Ranger turned to walk to Stephanie, but the effects of the tranquilizer seemed to kick in along with the pain from the beating he had recieved and the adrenaline he had been running off dissipated into nothing. He put a hand against the wall to brace himself.

"Carlos," Stephanie hurried to him. She cupped his face in her hands, their eyes meeting, They stood that way for moments, eyes searching. "Carlos, you shouldn't be up."

"Didn't know where the hell I was." He admitted.

"Reika, help me get him back upstairs." Stephanie ordered. "We'll be eating in my room tonight."

Together, they got Ranger back to Stephanie's room and back into bed. As she left, Reika paused at the door and looked back at the two. Ranger reached out for Stephanie, who went into his arms with a look of peace on her face.

Shutting the door, Reika grinned, knowing things were definitely going to be much more interesting now that Ranger was awake. She bounded down the stairs and found everyone in the den.

"Dinner!" She sang out as the oven went off announcing the completion of the pizzas.

The men stared at Liliana who was still dripping wet. "What happened to you?" Tank asked as they made their way back to the dining room.

"Let's just say Stephanie was unamused by certain events coming to light." She muttered. "I'm going to change."

"Hey, Bobby," Reika pulled out a tray and placed two plates on it with a couple slices of pizza on each. She arranged a small feast on it and looked at him, "Ranger is awake."

"When did that happen?" Tank demanded.

"Probably shortly before he nearly blew my head off." Reika shrugged. "He knows where he's at now."

"He was probably just groggy and disoriented," Bobby supplied.

"Oh, I know." Reika pointed at her neck. "I'm going to have a pretty bruise in the morning. It took a little fast talking to get through to him."

"What did you say?" Lester asked, taking a bite of pizza.

"Amsterdam."

Lester choked on his pizza. Preston walked into the dinning room and pounded on Lester's back as the others sat there laughing, knowing why that would have gotten through to Ranger and why Lester would probably want to spend the next several days hiding.

"Why _that_?" Lester demanded. "Of all things—"

"What would tell him he was safe than to bring up a mission that only those of us in this room know and have all agreed to take the story to our grave?" Reika replied, "Anyway, Bobby, I figure you're going to want to check Ranger out, make sure he's good to go and all. Take this with you. I'm sure they'll both need food." She handed him the tray. "And I wouldn't expect to see them out before the morning."

"I'm not clearing him for sex." Bobby announced. "Not until we're sure there are no side effects from that tranq."

"They're not going to have sex tonight. Tonight they're going to talk." Reika said.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Babe," Ranger breathed her scent in, feeling himself relax drastically at the feel of her in his arms. He ran his hands up her arms, cupping her face, and studying her. "You cut your hair."

"I had to." She said. "It was needed."

He continued to watch her, waiting for something else. She didn't say anything else. That was okay, he decided. He could wait until she wanted to talk. Instead he kissed her. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"We had to get you out." She replied burying her face in his neck. "Tank got word that you were missing and took Bobby and Lester to go find you and then I—well. We have to talk." She lifted her head to look at him. "There's a lot I need to tell you."

Ranger opened his mouth to speak, but the knocking on the door stopped him. Stephanie reluctantly crawled out of his embrace and went to the door and let Bobby in. Bobby wasted no time in looking Ranger over. There were some severe bruises around his rib area that looked bad, but not so much so that Bobby felt they needed x-rays. Ranger was going to be extremely sore and stiff for the next several days.

The moment Bobby left, Stephanie locked the door to keep out any unwanted visitors. She looked over at Ranger who was looking around the room. "Nice place. Where are we?" He asked.

"This is my house." She said coming to sit back on the bed with him. She brought the tray of food with her.

"Babe, there's no way your income bounty hunting could afford this place." Ranger said taking a bite of pizza. Reika's work no doubt, he thought biting into it. She was clever when it came to making something like pizza be healthy without anyone noticing.

"This wasn't paid for through bounty hunting." Stephanie said fidgeting with her fingers. God, she was nervous. She didn't know what he was going to do when he heard everything. One of Ranger's hands covered hers and squeezed them.

"You can tell me anything, Babe."

"I know." She said in a small voice. She took several breaths before talking again. "Liliana, Reika and the boys have told you stories over the years about someone named Iris, yes?"

"Yes." Ranger watched her carefully.

"Um…see…well—I…uh… um… _I _am Iris." She stumbled out, keeping her gaze down in her lap, watching their hands.

"I know."

Stephanie's head snapped up so fast, Ranger thought she was going to have whiplash from that. "What? How could you—there's nothing to—who do I have to kill?"

Ranger gave a bark of laughter. "No one, Babe. I figured it out a couple years ago."

"Why didn't you say anything? How did you even figure that out? Iris and I are nothing alike!" She huffed.

"I didn't say anything because you clearly wanted to keep Iris under wraps and nonexistent." He answered. "I had hoped at some point you'd open up about her, but you never did. As for figuring it out, well, a couple years ago I was on a mission and it involved these guys. We were trying to plan a strategy that was being a pain in the ass. Lil and Reika started talking about Iris, laughing about a past mission that had something to do with elephants and belly dancers."

Stephanie groaned. "Oh god, that. Wait, how would _that _make you think of me?"

"According to them, the plan for that mission didn't start out that way and they'd ended up needing a distraction. Something you," He tugged on one of her curls, "are a master at. When I got back, I noticed how quickly you could assess a situation. Without realizing it, Babe, you gave yourself away."

"No one else picked up on it." She grumbled.

"No one else was looking for a highly trained weapon walking around Trenton, New Jersey." Ranger told her. "Little habits gave you away mostly. They were habits that your group had no problem boasting about. Reika always said that Iris was someone who couldn't be tamed, and Babe, you are definitely not someone who can be tamed."

"I…damn." Stephanie sighed. "I thought I'd done such a good job hiding everything."

"Babe, you did a great job. How Morelli never saw anything else is beyond me. What I'd like to know," he kissed her, "Is what happened."

"What happened?" She gave an innocent look.

"Babe."

She sighed. "Alright. Let me start at the very beginning. I came home from school when I was eighteen. I was a couple weeks shy of graduating. The seniors had been let out early that day. My parents didn't realize that. When I got home, I heard arguing. Instead of walking away and leaving things to them, I decided to eavesdrop.

"Turns out General Cruise, General Anders and Reggie were all there. Daddy served in the Rangers too, and like you, he'd signed a contract after his time was up. Unfortunately, it turned out there was a loophole in his contract that they missed when he signed. He'd been injured badly on his last mission that they never called him back for another one. He had four years left on the contract.

"The government had decided they wanted Dad's service back. They were there to take him and have him go on missions. Missions that would have inevitably killed him. He was too old to run around with men that were nearly thirty years his junior. My mom was in there begging them to leave and not do this. She was hysterical. Then I made it worse when I burst into the room and told them to take me instead." She looked up at Ranger, and saw nothing but compassion and love in the look he was giving her. "And you know the Army doesn't accept women into the Rangers." He nodded and she continued, "General Anders took a look at me and to this day I can still feel every calculating thought that went through his mind."

Ranger wasn't surprised. When he thought about it, General Anders would do something like that. He stayed silent waiting for Stephanie to continue. She paused to take a sip of water and have a bite of pizza.

"As a female, I couldn't go into the Rangers, but there were other ways the military and government could utilize me." She sighed, letting her head fall back to look at the ceiling before putting her gaze back to Ranger. "They agreed. Or rather Cruise and Anders agreed. Reggie looked shell shocked, then he promised my parents he would do everything he could to make sure I came home alive. They reworked my dad's contract so that I was taking on the last four years of it.

"I was put through a series of tests until they were satisfied they hadn't made a mistake. Apparently I scored higher than some of the smartest people in the world on a few of those tests." She shrugged. "I don't know much about that, I just know how to utilize what's available to me.

"Anyway, afterward, Reggie took me to Ft. Benning so I could get training. I met Lil and Reika there. In six months we were put through some of the most grueling training ever done to a person." She fidgeted. "As you put it, I was turned into a highly trained weapon.

"At first I enjoyed it. All of it, it was great to get away from the Burg to be essentially no one special. Our missions were probably very similar to yours, only a different tactic was employed to get what we wanted. Gradually, Preston, Braden and Dash joined our group and the six of us tended to get assigned the most dangerous missions.

"To help gather information we needed, we'd create different personas—similar to your Marc Pardo. A few years into it, I decided I needed to separate myself when I was home from the person I was when I was working. I created Iris. Iris is practically the antithesis to me. It made it easier to come home and be myself.

"Four years passed and I decided I wanted to continue and signed another four years." She took a shuddering breath. "Mom hated it. Every time Reggie went to visit she always expected him to tell her I was dead. Luckily, he never delivered that message. Especially since I was going on more and more deadly missions.

"Slowly, I started losing sight of me and became Iris completely." Stephanie sighed. "Iris took over and I couldn't fight. In the end it helped because my last mission took nearly a year and I had to be Iris consistently. You're familiar with Rodrigo Sanchez?" She looked at him for confirmation and saw his tense nod. "His government, our government and who knows how many others, want him out of the way. Any assassins that have been hired have always failed. So they decided to send someone in to infiltrate."

"They chose you."

"I volunteered actually." Stephanie corrected. "I'd heard some of the horrific things he'd done to the women he'd sleep with and I wanted to stop him. Iris was the perfect draw for him—untamable, beautiful, intelligent. So we went with it.

"I can't go into much detail, but needless to say, the mission failed." She closed her eyes and swallowed against the lump in her throat. "I got in too deep. It's not something I'm ready to discuss, but we all agreed I needed to get out. My renewal date had passed and I had chosen not to sign. I'd agreed to finish the mission prior, but things went south it was the best idea to get me out.

"I came back to Trenton and was determined to put all of that life behind me. We already worked my personal information so no one could connect Iris and Stephanie together. Mom was thrilled when I said I was done. She wanted to find me a husband and a stable home. Dad wanted me to go talk to a military psychologist." She gave a dry laugh. "I probably should have, but I felt I knew better so I told him I was fine.

"For the last five years I've done everything I could to put Iris behind me. And Rodrigo has never believed for one moment that Iris is dead. He discovered the connection and took you in attempt to get me back." A sad smile came to her face. "Ironic, isn't it? You feared a relationship with me because of your enemies, and in the end it was mine that came to bite us in the ass."

"I'm not going anywhere, Babe." Ranger told her, drawing her into his lap, wanting to hold her. He decided she'd had enough time sitting away from him. "Braden said once Iris was really good at explosions."

Stephanie giggled. "I assure you the explosions _I _cause are all accidental and annoying coincidental."

"Babe," He tilted her chin up, "What do you want to do?"

"I signed a contract." She sighed. He tensed beneath her and she hastened to say, "It's a short one. It's only active long enough to kill Rodrigo."

Ranger surprised them when he let out a large yawn. "I guess I need to sleep that tranq off."

Stephanie giggled. "I'll let you get some rest." She grabbed the tray and moved to get off the bed. Ranger caught her around the waist and took the tray from her setting it on the ground.

"You're resting with me, Babe." He said. "We're not finished talking."

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-)<strong>


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews everyone! I will get back to replying personally to everyone. I hope this chapter doesn't seem off to anyone. I just felt that Ranger would have more questions. Thanks for following along! :-)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own them, not making any money**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 11**

Ranger couldn't sleep. He looked down at Stephanie who was tucked into his side, head resting on his shoulder. In the past he could say she looked peaceful when she slept with him, and he knew he always felt peaceful when she was in his arms. Right now she looked like more peaceful than he had ever seen her. She looked like she had the weight of the world removed from her shoulders. He had secrets, but he had never tried to hide who he'd had to be at times. He couldn't imagine how hard it had been for his Babe to pretend a part of her life had never existed. She had put so much stress on herself to separate herself from Iris.

"Babe." He nudged her gently.

"Mm." She snuggled closer.

"Babe, wake up." Ranger nudged her a little more.

"Hm…? Carlos?" Stephanie blinked her eyes as she woke. "What is it? Are you in pain? Do you need some medicine?"

"No, babe, I've spent the last several days tranquilized." He gave a dry chuckle. "I've had plenty of unwanted rest. I should kill the fucker who did that to me."

"Mmm. You can't kill Frederick." She murmured resting her head on his chest. "Too many people and governments need him alive. Besides, you took out six of his men, at the very least. I'm sure Rodrigo had a large bill given to him for that."

"Are you defending him?"

"Slightly." She yawned and lifted her head to look at him. "Carlos, Frederick doesn't typically deal with human trafficking. It's one of the areas he won't touch, though people can usually find links to others who do sell humans from him. I'm sure some of your contacts have gotten info you've needed from Frederick. How haven't you heard of him?"

"I've heard of him, just never dealt with him." Ranger muttered. "Why was he working with Rodrigo?"

"An educated guess would be Rodrigo threatened to take his sister." Stephanie put her head back down, feeling her entire body tense up. It galled her to this day that she hadn't been able to stop Rodrigo. The most she had been able to do was divert his attention from the other bedmates he had claimed. It had given those women months of reprieve, but who knew how much they suffered because of her leaving.

"What's going to happen to Frederick?"

"Oh, nothing. Rodrigo knows it's foolish to hurt Frederick. No one admits to using him, but if something happens to him…well, it'll bring a lot of wraths down. It won't be pretty." Stephanie yawned and looked at the clock. "We got her sister out, so Frederick is feeling a lot less nervous about Rodrigo's threats toward her—and is there a reason you woke me at two-thirty in the morning?"

"I wanted to talk."

"_You _wanted to talk?" She blinked. "About?"

"You."

"What about me?"

"Dickie."

"He's an ass, what more do you want?"

"Babe."

Stephanie stayed silent so long, Ranger thought she might have gone back to sleep. Finally she said, "Desperate attempt to create a life that I wasn't meant for."

"I guessed that much, Babe." He ran a hand through her curls. "With the training you have, how did you avoid killing him and Joyce when you found them?"

Stephanie giggled, making them both bounce on the very comfortable bed. "Would you believe me if I said that when I found them, I processed about twenty different scenarios where they were killed and buried and made so that Dickie and Joyce had never been heard of?" She started laughing harder. When she calmed she continued, "Ultimately, I had to think of how I would have reacted before I had agreed to finish Dad's contract. Which wasn't easy. I wasn't a teenager anymore."

Ranger nodded in understanding. "What made you decide on bounty hunting?"

"Well, I did get a job as a lingerie buyer for EE Martin." She folded her arms across his chest, resting her chin on them to look at him. "Believe it or not, between missions and training, I did manage to get a business degree. It was a good break from figuring out the most effective way to kill a target at times. When I got laid off from EE Martin, I thought about what I could do. Mom suggested the button factory, but I would've killed myself and people there. Dad mentioned Vinnie's and I figured it was the best thing I could do without giving myself away. Of course, that was the bigger challenge since I didn't want anyone to know what I am capable of."

"And you let me become your Henry Higgins?" He smiled at her.

"Yeah, well, realistically, I didn't know anything about being a bounty hunter, so I did have a bit of crutch there. I did need some help initially, though probably not as much as you were led to believe—like when Joe cuffed me to the shower rod. It would've been awkward to explain how I got myself out of that." She gave a sheepish grin, "And…it gave me a chance to see you."

Ranger chuckled, "Babe." They lay there watching one another for a couple moments. "You've managed to hold Iris down completely and not give anything away to the common eye in five years. That's impressive."

"Um, well, not completely. She did make a reappearance." Stephanie admitted.

"When?"

"Abruzzi." He gave her a long look until she finally continued talking. "It's not one of my prouder moments, but I was pretty pissed off that he managed to do torture me, even if it's not the worst form of torture I'd been through. After Morelli took me back to his place, I, uh, slipped a sedative in his drink and waited for it to take effect. Braden was nearby, visiting an old friend. I called him and he took me to take care of Abruzzi."

He'd always had suspicions about the way Abruzzi died. He hadn't lied to Morelli when he said suicide, because that's what it looked like and he had never found anything else to indicate otherwise. But hearing everything from Stephanie about who she was and had been, it made much more sense. Despite her need to ignore who she had been, who she still technically was, there were certain things she couldn't let go of—couldn't let others handle for her.

"And if Tank and I hadn't been there when you came after Stiva with your car?"

"Carlos, are you trying to figure me out?"

"Babe, you're a bit of an enigma right now. I can only imagine how hard it was to shut off those instincts you'd developed." He shook his head, "I'd love to see the look on Morelli's face during one of your infamous fights if you ever leveled him."

Stephanie laughed. "Oh, I don't think I would have hurt him that badly."

"Is Iris the reason it took so long for us to talk you into training?"

"Yes…but then I started getting twitchy and irritated with skips. I figured if I let you guys 'train' me then I could keep myself from giving anything away. If I ever slipped into one of _my _old training habits, then no one would be likely to question it because they would know you and the rest of the Merry Men were training me."

She was getting restless, he realized. He knew exactly where she was coming from too. If he spent too much time idle he started getting irritable. The idea of spending five years idle away from what had been ingrained into him was unacceptable—for him. He had never tried to run from who he was.

"Any more questions?" She asked through a yawn.

"One more: where are we?"

"North Montana. Few miles shy of the Canadian border."

"Why did you buy a house in Montana?"

"Who's going to look for me in Montana?" She countered. "The view is gorgeous, I've got a big lake to run around or swim in if I want. It's a great place to crash and decompress. Get some sleep Carlos. You can explore later if you want. I'm on breakfast duty, so while I cook, you can learn your surroundings. When you're feeling better, you can join me for a run around the lake." She smiled.

"Are we just running around the lake?" He gave her his wolf grin, causing her to giggle.

\/\/\/\/\/

Liliana and Bobby collapsed into a satisfied heap of tangled limbs. They smiled at one another. Dinner had gone really well. Everyone had bantered back and forth amongst each other. Reika had barely waited until Lester was finished with his last slice of pizza before dragging him upstairs to "tie him down and torture him to my delight," she had informed all of them. Which was, of course, more than any of them had wanted to know.

"You're taking this whole thing about Steph a lot more mellow than Lester has." Lil commented as they struggled to get their breathing under control.

Bobby ran a hand up and down her side before settling it on her hip. "Steph has always had our backs. She's never done anything to make us suspicious of her, or to make us feel like we can't trust her. It's a bit shocking, but I think I'm not altogether surprised. Ranger has praised her instincts for so long, and seeing them myself, it all makes sense. I'm more curious as to why she hid it."

"She had to get out." Was all Lil would tell him.

"So, she signed a contract." Bobby said. "That's just weird." He chuckled.

Liliana looked at him and laughed. From his perspective, she could see the humor. "It's extremely short, but you'll see a whole new side of Steph."

All the Merry Men would, she thought.

\/\/\/\/\/

Ranger was moving around the house stiffly, but he was determined to know his whereabouts. So far he was impressed with the house. It was tastefully decorated, most of the furniture was dark cherry wood and despite Stephanie rarely being here—he had found out when they'd gotten up for the day that she did take a few days during the summer to fly out here and hide away. She had been very good about covering her tracks when she went on vacations.

The basement contained a huge gym which Braden, Dash and Preston had been occupying, along with Tank. Tank and Dash had been sparring with each other when he walked in. It made Ranger wonder if he was going to see Stephanie sparring down here. No doubt he would, he thought as he continued his search of the house. She would have to get back into the shape she had been as Iris, which meant this short mission could take longer than she wanted. Longer than _he _wanted, but he was going to stay right by her side through the whole thing, whether she liked it or not.

"Having fun?" Liliana asked him leaning up against a wall with cup of coffee in her hand.

"Just getting a feel of the place." He replied.

"Are you ready for what's going to go down?" She asked falling into step with him.

"With?"

"Steph." She raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm not an idiot. I know Steph talked to you last night. She wouldn't wait to do it, not with everything going on."

"Is that why you came to RangeMan, because of Rodrigo?"

Liliana shrugged. "As far as I knew, her identity had been compromised. I didn't know by who. Most of us didn't believe Rodrigo could find out. I still don't think he could have found out on his own."

"You think someone betrayed her?"

"Not in our group," She answered. "But someone did. Unfortunately, when that person is found, he's going to be dealing with her. So, I ask again, are you ready?"

"I can handle whatever Stephanie needs me to handle." Ranger told her.

Liliana moved in front of him, blocking his way. "Ranger, I like you, and I know you're good for Steph. You are probably the only one who will be able to help her this time. I just think you need to be ready."

Ranger eyed her. "What exactly is your position here, Lil?"

"What Tank is to you, I am to Steph." She replied. "I don't know how much she told you about creating Iris, but she needs to find a happy medium and bring herself to a whole. It's like she cut off her damn arm when she walked away and put Iris away."

Ranger nodded. "I know."

"What do you plan to do about it?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Whatever it takes to help her." He moved passed her. "You are not the only one who cares about what Stephanie does to herself."

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! Promise! :-D<strong>


	13. Chapter 12

**AN: I am SO sorry for how long it's taken me to post this chapter. I'm focusing on making my updates more regular now that the holidays are over. Here's a new chapter, and we have a little left over unfinished business with Lester that needed some clearing up :-) **

**Disclaimer: Not mine and not making any money. Just playing!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<br>Chapter 12**

By the time Ranger finished exploring the house, he found a group of people standing at the top of the stairs talking in hushed whispers. He got close to them to hear what was being said.

"I smell Eggs Benedict," Reika whispered.

"There's a hint of French Toast," Braden said, "Thank God. I haven't had her French Toast in ages."

"Who is down there cooking?" Lester asked quietly falling into the conversation.

"Steph." Dash said as if it were obvious.

"_Bomber _cooks?" He looked incredulous. "Are you sure it's safe to let her into a kitchen?"

"Course it is, Santos," Liliana chuckled quietly then moaned at a smell that wafted up the stairs, "Oh my god, she's making Parmesan and Chive Egg Soufflé."

"Is it edible?" Bobby asked.

"Why is it so surprising that Steph cooks?" Braden asked looking back at them.

"Bomber doesn't cook. She burns things and destroys kitchens." Tank explained.

"Basically, the polar opposite of what she's capable of." Liliana told them.

"Next thing you're going to tell us is that she cleans too." Lester said.

Preston looked at them quizzically. "Well…yeah. If we've got to clear out of a place quickly it helps to have the place clean so it doesn't look like we were ever there."

"Do you girls plan to stand up there gossiping all morning or am I eating this breakfast myself?" Stephanie called from the foot of the stairs.

"Coming!" Reika called cheerfully pushing past everyone and bounding down the stairs.

As Ranger brought up the rear, he heard Preston say to Braden, "I know I chose to keep my nose out of Steph's business, but they keep calling her Bomber and Bombshell, so now I have to wonder if she's become a pyrotechnic fanatic."

Braden chuckled. "Dude. I'll show you."

While everyone chose to sit around the table and talk as Stephanie moved around the kitchen with an ease that unnerved the Merry Men, Ranger sat at the breakfast bar and watched in fascination. Everything he was learning about the woman he loved just pulled his interest more and more.

Stephanie paused and looked over at him, giving him a wicked grin as she leaned over the bar and kissed him. "Like the house?"

"Babe." He shook his head, "It's amazing. Especially that Shelby in the garage. Did something happen to it?"

Stephanie froze with butcher knife in hand. "Nothing should have happened to it, _Braden._" She shot Braden a dirty look who gave her an extremely guilty look.

"It's bad for a car to go long periods of time without being turned on." He reasoned.

"That car was not to be touched by _you_!" She pointed the butcher knife at him. "Especially not after the last car you destroyed!"

"Now, how's that fair, Bomber?" Bobby asked punching in a few keys on the laptop Liliana had brought out to explain Stephanie's nicknames. "Ranger keeps giving you cars and you keep blowing them up. Like his Boxster."

Braden let out a whimper at the sight of a news article showing the car death. "Shit, that's a beautiful car, Steph…" A whirring noise and a hard thud next to his head at the wall shut him up quickly. He simply focused on the page in front of him.

Lester looked at the butcher knife that was firmly embedded in the wall. "Nice aim!"

"I missed." She said deadpanned.

Tank cleared his throat, "Not to be a killjoy here, but what's your plan, Steph?" He glanced at Ranger. "You've agreed to come back in order to stop Rodrigo."

"I haven't figured out all the details yet." She replied putting the food on serving dishes. She looked at Ranger. "I'd like to keep you guys here as well. Reggie believes if we combine our teams we'll have a much better chance at stopping Rodrigo than we did before. I have to agree."

"Okay," Lester said before Ranger could even speak, "Then, what do you want to do, Ranger? How do you want to stop this guy?"

"Uh, Lester," Liliana raised an eyebrow, "Steph's in charge."

"Why?"

"She's our leader." Reika said giving a shrug as she grabbed the serving dishes off the breakfast bar and brought them to the table.

"Your leader who ran away five years ago." Lester argued.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You don't get a say in this, Lester. As it is, I would highly prefer to work _with _Ranger rather than above him."

Ranger shot her his million dollar grin and took her hand. "Babe."

As they settled to eat, Lester couldn't help but continue to needle Stephanie. "You've had all this training, what makes you think you're capable of handling Rodrigo? You didn't seem to be able to your job the first time."

"There are extenuating circumstances to that particular time, Lester, which you don't need to know." Stephanie shot back.

"Dear Mother of God," Liliana whimpered after a couple bites of soufflé, "I swear I just had an orgasm. Stephanie you're never leaving us again."

The tension that had been building between Lester and Stephanie was broken by that comment. Everyone in the room started laughing.

"So, tell me, what kind of training _do _you have, Bombshell?" Tank asked.

Reika spoke up for Stephanie, whose mouth was full, "Krav Maga, other various forms of martial arts, weapons training—she can really work a rocket launcher—art of distractions…" She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment, "Think of all of us a Swiss Army Knife. We're multi-functional."

Stephanie and Liliana both choked on their food. Braden, Preston and Dash cracked up laughing. Reika simply gave an innocent smile and dug into her food.

"So…uh…how multi-functional are we talking?" Lester waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Don't worry, they were good at screwing too." Reika offered.

"_Reika!_"

"What?" She took a sip of orange juice. "You got laid, what's the problem?"

"Can I kill her?" Liliana asked looking at Stephanie.

"No, we need her." She replied. "We'll think of something to do to her much much later."

"Leaving Steph and Liliana's… extracurricular activities to the side, do you have any idea where you want to start?" Preston asked.

Stephanie sighed, "I'll have to train for a while. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get the hang of things again. Training with Ranger and his men have helped me get most of my stamina back, but I'll need you, Lil, to help with sparring."

Liliana nodded, and Preston said, "We'll need to do a physical. If you have to get close to Rodrigo again, we need to make sure there's nothing that will make him question you."

"Somehow I think if we get close to each other, one of us is going to die." Stephanie replied.

"Be that as it may," Preston continued, "You're becoming Iris again. There are some things we can probably pass off easily enough, but others might be harder."

"I can have her medical file from RangeMan mailed in," Bobby told him. "Since I'm the medic there, I've got everything on her for the last few years she spent as a bounty hunter. That's probably when she saw the most activity." He looked at her for confirmation. She nodded and he continued, "Between the two of us, we should be able to get a good idea of what needs to be covered up or come up with a good story as to why it's there."

"Like what?" Stephanie demanded, irritated that they were deciding things for her right in front of her.

"The scar on your arm, for one," Preston said, motioning with his fork. "Where'd you get it?" She looked at the scar on her arm. Abruzzi. Bastard had burned her with a poker. Before she could answer him, he asked, "What else have you got in the way of scars that we don't know about?"

Feeling old pressures come back, she shoved her chair back, yanked off her tank top and jeans, leaving her clad in only her bra and boyshorts panties. "Take a look." She growled and slowly turned so they could see her body. "See anything different?"

"Shit, Bomber!" Tank and Lester looked up at the ceiling certain that Ranger would kill them if they saw her like that. Bobby didn't have the same fear, considering he'd bandaged Stephanie up repeatedly over the years.

Ranger watched Stephanie carefully. He could see the irritation in her eyes. Probably, things wouldn't have been so bad if Lester hadn't been trying to cause problems. He didn't know what his cousin's problem was, but as soon as he was able he was going to take him to the mats Stephanie had in her basement gym.

Preston and Bobby inspected Stephanie's body quickly and efficiently, only making her turn a couple more times. Preston grabbed a small notepad off the fridge and they a few notes. Once breakfast was over, Bobby was going to contact RangeMan and have his file on Stephanie express shipped to them.

"How much do you see in difference?" Bobby asked as Stephanie pulled back on her clothes. They began eating once more.

"Not much. You've gained some weight—which is actually a good thing," Preston added quickly when he saw the ugly looks he received from Stephanie, Liliana and Reika. "You know that, I always told you to put about ten more pounds back on."

"I'm sure I put on more than that." She said. "I'll get it off."

"Not too much," Preston ordered. "Last time I told you to gain weight you were thrown out a window because you were way too light."

"You've been thrown out a window?" Tank looked at her incredulously. "And you were shocked when I did it?"

"Maybe you should avoid that this time." Braden said.

"Sure, next time someone picks me up and is going to throw me out the window, I'll ask him not to." Stephanie rolled her eyes affectionately. "I see that going over real well."

"I'm with Braden," Preston chuckled, "Do you remember how long we were digging glass out of your back? You're lucky there aren't any scars."

"I'll bear that in mind should I come to another situation where there's a high chance I'm going out a window." She said dryly.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Carlos, where are you going?" Stephanie asked him later that afternoon.

"To find Lester." He grunted. "Someone needs to remind him to respect you." He continued to struggle his way down the hall. After breakfast, he'd needed to rest, his injuries making him weary.

"I'll go talk to him." She slid her arms around him. "After all, this _is _my fault he's here."

"Babe, he's one of mine—" He shook his head.

"No, Carlos, please. Let me go talk to him. If need be, _I'll _take him to the mats." She smiled. "I don't think I'll have to, but hey, it's been awhile since I've gotten a good work out."

He raised an eyebrow. "Babe, I'm hurt. I thought I worked you out pretty well before I had to leave."

She giggled, "Oh, don't worry, you give _great _workouts." She kissed him. "Go back and rest. I know you don't want to, but you know you're not going to be a lot of good to any of us until you're in top shape. Give your body a chance to recuperate. I'll be up after I talk to Lester."

"Are you planning to help my body recuperate?" His wolf-grin came out.

"Only if you're very good." Stephanie kissed him again, and then turned him toward the direction of her bedroom. "Now move it, soldier!" For added measure, she swatted him on the ass.

He turned his head and raised his eyebrow, "Payback's a bitch, Babe."

"Oh, I'm counting on it!" She chuckled as she headed in the direction Ranger had previously been destined.

She found Lester working the punching bag so hard it was like it had offended him personally. She could only guess he'd been down there for a few hours by the amount of sweat coming off him.

Quietly, Stephanie walked to the wall nearest the punching bag. Lester looked at her briefly then turned his attention back to his victim. She watched him for ten minutes before interrupting. "Care to share your problem?"

"No."

"Alright, let me rephrase that," Stephanie pushed off the wall and strode forward, "What is your problem?"

He stopped punching the bag and stared at her. "I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this," he motioned at her, "person you are."

"I'm still the same person you know, Lester. I still love watching hockey, and going to Pinos—well, not as much as I let myself, but I do enjoy it—and hanging out with all of you."

"You've given us a lie, Steph." His pulled off the gloves and tossed them angrily on the floor. "All of us who have been hurt on the job for you didn't have to be hurt because you could've kept yourself alive this entire time. What would you have done if you had gotten one of us killed knowing you could've prevented it?"

Stephanie flinched, his words striking home. "You're right. I have lied about my capabilities, and when this job is over I will lie about them again. I can't offer you a heartfelt apology about my actions because I'm not sorry I separated myself from her. I can say that I _am _sorry for every time one of you was injured. And if things had gotten to the point where your life was truly endanger, then yes, I would have given myself away to keep all of you alive." She took a step toward him. "You know Ranger has made enemies, and he's kept his privacy tighter than Fort Knox. I've made enemies just as well, and unfortunately, the Big Bad of my enemies has come out to play. If you don't want to be here anymore, and you don't want to be friends with me, I understand."

Her heart was hammering in her chest. Tank, Bobby and Ranger hadn't reacted with this kind of attitude. She was expecting it from all of them, but the acceptance they greeted her with had given her a much needed reassurance. She hadn't realized how much she had come to depend on their opinions of her. While she loved Ranger more than life and thrived on the support he gave in the way a partner should, she also craved the reassurance of the Merry Men, most especially Ranger's Core Team.

His shoulders sagged in defeat. "I know…I'm sorry, Steph. Really I am. It's just suddenly you really are Wonder Woman not needing any of us really. All of us, Ranger excluded, think of you as a sister, so seeing that you don't need us to protect you, or even teach you to protect yourself it's just a hard pill to swallow. And about last night, I'm sorry for that too. I shouldn't have implied that you didn't love Ranger. Anyone can see that you two love each other."

"It's okay, Les." She smiled at him. "I'll warn you now though, you're probably going to see a lot more that you aren't used to seeing from me."

"Like what, Beautiful?" He waggled his eyebrows at her, making her giggle. Everything had been forgiven. "Does it have anything to do with Reika's comment about you and Liliana getting screwed?"

"If you want to get screwed, you need to find Reika." She smirked and turned to walk away, "After all, you two were the ones who hung out in the Red Light District. I'm sure there are tricks she knows that I don't."

"Uh….Beautiful, how do you know about that?"

"My men and women don't keep secrets from me, Santos." Stephanie looked over her shoulder, "Though, how you succeeded to pimp Ranger out is mind boggling."

"You're, uh, going to keep that to yourself, right?"

"Be afraid, Santos, be afraid."

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-)<strong>


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: Thank you for those that gave reviews :-) It's a pleasure getting them! I'm only sorry there were so few! But I saw quite a few adds to alerts, so that made me happy! Just remember folks, those of us who write fanfics are not paid money, our payment is in reviews :-) **

**Disclaimer: Not making money, I don't own them sadly...though owning Ranger would be fun!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 13**

For the next couple months, Stephanie found herself exercising with an intensity she hadn't felt in a long time. Falling back into the old routine had not been as hard as she thought it would be. She knew having trained with Ranger and his Merry Men it had helped her stamina grow back to nearly what she was used to. Throwing herself straight back into what she used to do was silly and when she tried it she found herself collapsing quickly. After listening to a lecture from Bobby and Preston, she received a long look from Ranger which told her everything she knew he would have said out loud.

Ranger had healed quickly. The first couple weeks he drove everyone nuts. Sitting idly and resting was not something he did well. In fact he didn't do it at all. Once Bobby cleared him for exercising, Ranger had all but run straight for the gym.

The Merry Men found it fascinating to watch Stephanie switch from the woman they knew to a calculating leader who could conceive a plan in a matter of minutes. They had all believed before that she underestimated herself, but now they found it wasn't that she underestimated herself, it was that she closed that part off from being used. Lester and Tank were making bets to see how long she could keep it under wraps when they went back to Trenton.

Stephanie lost herself when she was exercising. She couldn't bring herself to talk to everyone about the fears she had, but at night, wrapped in Ranger's arms, she could freely admit them to him. Especially the biggest one hovering over them.

Ranger had been on his back, Stephanie sprawled across his chest. "Carlos?"

"Hm?" His fingers drew lazy patterns on her back.

"Do you want to know the main reason Reggie suggested you guys help with Rodrigo?" She left her head and rested it on the back of her hands. At his nod she whispered, "Because if you don't, I'm not going to survive this fight."

"Babe?" His arms tightened around her.

She took a shuddering breath, "I know everything you've heard about me, or Iris, has been wowing in its own way, but I…I…" She swallowed against the lump in her throat and put her forehead on his chest trying to calm herself and speak the words. "I nearly died last time as it was. Rodrigo is a master at both psychological torture and physical."

"What did he do to you?" He ran a hand through her short curls and brought her chin up so he could see her eyes. In the moonlight he could see the fear lacing them. He had always assumed he'd seen her scared before, but right now, there was a terror in her eyes that he had never seen and wanted nothing more than to erase it. "Answer me, Stephanie."

"I—not yet. Please." She whispered. "I will, I think, at some point. I just can't yet."

"Babe." He drew her up his body, and struggled to ignore his body's reaction to her soft form on him, bringing her face inches from his. "You'll talk about it. You have to. I won't push you on this right now, but you're not going to avoid it. Whatever he did to you, you have to face before you face him again. It's going to be your biggest weakness if you don't."

"I'd say you're my biggest weakness." She sighed.

"Did you not want me staying?" He asked.

"Not initially, no," Stephanie admitted. "I was so angry that he had managed to get you and felt guilty, I just wanted to get you out of there and back to Trenton, then go on my own little hunting trip for the bastard. Then Reggie talked to me and it made me think. He was right when he said my best shot at coming home alive is to work with you. I would've regretted not asking you in the long run."

"You wouldn't have gotten rid of me that easily, Babe." He kissed her. "I've got pretty good tracking capabilities."

"Tank said you'd be able to find out what I was hiding before I knew what happened to you." She smiled at him.

"What did you tell him?"

"Even your clearance didn't have access to that information." She smiled. "But somehow, I get the feeling you'd have found a way to find me."

"Damn straight." He kissed her again. It was sensual delivering a lot of promise. Then he held her tightly to him for a moment. "Babe, we're a partnership. We have never had the typical relationship, nor are we going to start. We've both got enemies, but we will handle them _together_. I love you, Babe. We wasted too much time dancing around each other. I'll be damned if I let Rodrigo take you from me."

With that, Stephanie found herself talking to Ranger every night, whether it was gaining reassurance, or talking to him about various past missions that everyone else had told him about. He seemed to want her input on them, in attempt to separate fact from fiction. He also went running with her when she had worked her way back to running around the lake again. He could see why she would hide away here for a few days. It was quiet and undisturbed. Ranger could easily see himself resting here after a hard mission. Perhaps that was something he would consider doing if Stephanie would let him.

He had heard about her conversation with Lester in the gym. Reika had conveniently been hiding where neither Lester nor Stephanie could see her. Knowing that Stephanie planned to go back to Trenton and act like nothing happened initially annoyed him, but thinking about it from her perspective he could understand why she wanted to. Now he wanted to help find a way for her to continue to truly be herself when she came home. It would be difficult to convince her but he was sure he could find a way to do it.

In his observations, he had noticed when Stephanie turned herself "off" and turned Iris "on". She had created such a division in herself that she transitioned between them effortlessly. Liliana had been right when she said Stephanie had "cut off her arm" so to speak. He could see the lack of wholeness in her. There was something hard about Iris, something he recognized from past missions that had hardened him until Stephanie waltzed into the diner that fateful day. The difference between Steph and himself was that he didn't cut part of himself off—he shut down his emotions. He had realized shortly after she began retraining that not only would she be fighting Rodrigo, she would be fighting Iris. He just had to make sure neither Iris nor Rodrigo won.

He was contemplating how to help Stephanie one morning when Reika's voice bounded through the speaker system they had hooked up.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" There was a long pause, then, "GENTLEMAN AND ME! For your viewing pleasure, we have at this very moment, an intense sparring session between our very own Lil and Steph! For those of you who have not seen them in action against each other, it is a golden opportunity to watch two awesome fighters at work! Those of you who have seen this, well…why aren't you down here?"

Ranger looked up to see all the men who were not in the gym hurrying down to it. Curious himself, he caught up with them and descended to the gym.

Reika and Braden were sitting next to the large mats set up for sparring. They were safely out of the way of Lil and Steph who were circling each other, weapons in hand. The men positioned themselves behind Reika and Braden, either standing or sitting to watch the match.

"This is going to be an interesting match." Reika said bouncing.

"I don't know, Reika, Stephanie's been out of the game for some time. Lil might have an advantage over her." Braden replied.

"I wouldn't count Steph out, Braden. After all, she did start getting training from Ranger and his men, so that could definitely give her an edge that she didn't have prior."

Lester and Preston were behind them snickering at the commentary going on as they watched the match in session.

The two women circled one another, Liliana with a pair of swords in her hands, Stephanie with a pair of sais. While Lil had a cocky grin on her face, Stephanie's face held a look of boredom, which they both knew was nothing more than a ruse.

Liliana lunged forward, Stephanie blocked. Everything around them fell away so that it was just them fighting. Knowing that they wouldn't kill each other, they both held enough control in their weapons to avoid that, they put plenty of aggression into the fight. For every advance Lil made with her swords, Stephanie used the sais to block. Sweat beaded on their skin, making them glisten in the light.

Lil, trying to get an advantage, moved around Steph and came forward with the swords, only to have Steph catch them with sais and disarm her. There was a collective "Ohhhhh!" From the gathered crowd.

Stephanie angled her head and smirked, "Ready to call it quits?"

"Not even close, Plum." Liliana shot back.

"Good." Stephanie tossed her sais to the side and they circled one another again, this time going straight for hand-to-hand fighting.

"I have to say, I was very impressed with Steph, there." Braden said nodding as he and Reika picked up their commentary. "I thought for sure her reflexes had diminished, but she's proving me wrong left and right."

"It's good to say our leader still has it." Reika nodded. "With what she's learned from RangeMan, she's bound to give Lil a run for her money in hand-to-hand. Question is will Lil play fair?"

"Not likely," Braden shook his head. "Lil has always had a penchant for taunting her opponents into action. While's it's always worked against us in the past, we don't know how well it will work with Steph."

"That's a good point, Braden. When Lil has worked it on her in the past, Steph usually left her hurting in the end. Let's see what happens this time." Their focus turned completely back to the continuing sparring session.

Ranger shook his head at the two of them as he leaned back against the wall, watching Steph. She kept herself on the balls of her feet, always keeping herself moving, ready to pounce forward or back as she and Liliana circled, whereas Lil didn't move at all. She was looking for a moment to strike, not finding any opening. Every jab she took, Steph blocked. In fact, he noted, Steph always let Lil come toward her. She kept herself on the defensive, taking few jabs. The shots she did take usually had Lil staggering back several feet.

"Come on, Steph, that's not all you got." Lil said, "You think I haven't seen you in action? I know what you're capable of. Why are you holding back?"

"Maybe I just don't want to hurt you. After all, we do need you on this mission. It would be a shame if I didn't have you to do certain…distractions, like last time." Stephanie shot back.

"Please." She laughed. "We both know why you won't take a decent shot at me. You're afraid you might give into your anger towards Rodrigo and take me out. Isn't that right? You wouldn't spar with me after we got you out, and back at RangeMan, I felt you holding back."

"I held back because no one at RangeMan knew what training I have." Stephanie growled.

"Sure, sure." She waved a dismissive hand. "Even the training they gave would have made you capable of taking me out. Face it, Plum, you're spitting mad at what happened, and you're holding back out of fear you could kill someone. Maybe that's good though, save it for Rodrigo. As long as it doesn't cloud your judgment of course, which we know could happen if you—"

Stephanie lunged and with quick efficient moves, she knocked Liliana off her feet and onto her ass and wasted no time in pinning her so she couldn't move. The other woman could only lay there gasping for air, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Well, would you look at that!" Reika exclaimed. "I don't recognize all those moves. It looks to me that Stephanie has combined what she learned from RangeMan and from her prior training."

"This is definitely going to make this mission very interesting. Especially if it comes down to a physical fight." Braden said.

Stephanie leaned down to Liliana, "You done?"

"Yep." She gasped, desperate for Steph to let her up so she could breathe. When the pressure was off and she could move again, she slowly sat up. Stephanie sat next to her and glanced over at her. "Well, you didn't kill me, so we know you've got control left."

Stephanie didn't get a chance to reply because a voiced boomed out, "Damn it, Plum, what have I told you about disabling your team members?"

Everyone's head shot toward the direction of the door. General Anders stood there, hands on his hips, glaring at the two women sitting in the middle of the mat. Reggie stood behind him along with Cruise, both looking guilty.

Ranger glanced at Stephanie and Liliana who wore matching scowls on their faces. "Can I help you, Sir?" Stephanie asked as she stood.

"We've got intel for you. All of you. Upstairs now." He turned and left the gym.

"Well, fuck, you'd think he owns the place." Dash grumbled as they all filed up the stairs. Stephanie shot him a glare over her shoulder.

Reggie held back and walked next to her, "Sorry, kiddo. Cruise and I didn't have much choice in this case. It's been a couple months. We tried to hold him off a little longer so you could get back up to par, but he's decided you've had enough time."

Stephanie nodded. "I'm not surprised he thinks he knows what's best. I _am _surprised you managed to deter him for as long as you have."

"Yeah, well, your mother isn't too happy. She said you're not getting pineapple upside down cake for a year." Reggie told her.

"That's okay. I have Ella." Stephanie looked at Ranger, "I do still have Ella, right?"

"Of course, Babe." He grinned at her.

Anders was waiting for them in the dining room, tapping his foot impatiently, looking quite pissed off, which, as any of them knew, was how he always looked. "Took you long enough."

Liliana opened her mouth to say something but Stephanie kicked her in the ankle. "Ow!"

"I slipped. My bad." She said innocently.

"If you two are done," Anders motioned toward the table. "All of you can sit."

"You are aware that you don't own this house, Sir?" Stephanie demanded as they all moved to sit.

"I may not own this house, but until this mission is done, I own _you_." He shot back.

Ranger saw the look in Stephanie's eyes change instantaneously. She looked ready to kill, but she sat. Sitting next to her, he grabbed her hand under the table. She clutched his like it was a lifeline. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand reassuringly until he felt the tension in her dissipate.

"Now, the intel we've received, Rodrigo has taken up his residence back in Spain." Anders began. "His security has tightened considerably since the last time we tried to get him. Since that mission, there have been other countries who have tried and failed. This time, there is no fail. Find a way to get to him and eliminate him. No matter what it takes."

"Sir, we got pretty close last time," Dash said, "with the help of the Rangers, I'm sure we'll be able to get close again, without having to go as far as we did then."

"As far as I'm concerned, Plum can spread her legs for Rodrigo again if it gets her close enough to kill him." Anders barked.

Ranger felt the tension surge back into her at that comment. He wasn't under any illusion that she'd had to do things she may not have cared for in past missions, but knowing how terrified she was of dealing with that man again, he knew that this was a time to tread carefully.

"You are aware that Rodrigo wants to kill her?" Liliana asked. "You're willing to sacrifice her to stop him by making her get in his bed?"

"One sacrifice to save hundreds is hardly insignificant, is it?" He replied. "She knew the score when she agreed to sign back on."

"That's enough, Anders." Stephanie said coldly. Her voice was low and the look on her face said she clearly wasn't going to be screwed around with. "I agreed to come back and stop him because I'm the only one whose gotten close enough to stop him. Reggie and Cruise have the right idea of having the Rangers help. Their expertise in certain areas will help us eliminate any threats as we work toward getting Rodrigo destroyed. I will not, however, sit here and listen to you talk about me being killed."

"You'll do this—"

"As I see fit." She cut him off. "You weren't there last time, and somehow, I think you would've let me rot if you had been. I don't know why you're included this time, and I don't care. You want him to be stopped, then back the fuck off and let me and mine do this our way."

"You were undercover a year and barely did anything."

"That's hardly true and you know it." She replied. "Quite honestly, this could take more than a year. As you know, Rodrigo is very skilled in tortures, his favorite being psychological."

"What do you have in mind?" Reggie asked.

"I plan to return the psychological fuck." Stephanie said.

Reika, Lil, Dash, Preston and Braden all grinned, knowing things were going to become very interesting. Ranger looked intrigued while Bobby, Lester and Tank couldn't decide if this was a good move or bad one.

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile!<strong>


	15. Chapter 14

**AN: Thank you for your reviews everyone! They made my day/week/weekend! :-) Thanks for reading this story! **

**Author Warning: This chapter is probably the darkest of all them, perhaps the darkest I've written for any plum-fic. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 14**

_There was no air. No way to move. In an attempt to take calming breaths she felt her heart speed up, knowing she was panicking. She had to calm down. Doing anything else would bring dire results, none of which she could afford to let affect her. Rodrigo had done this. Damn him, she thought vehemently. He was so angry at her that instead of using his usual methods of 'punishment' that he treated others with, she was getting something entirely different. _

_ Cautiously she felt around. Her hands ran along the smooth planes of the prison she was in. Nothing for her to grip, just endless smoothness, designed to torment her. Well, it wasn't going to work. There was a small opening no wider than a ballpoint pen. It was the only means of air she was getting. _

_ Taking slow breaths in and out, she forced herself to calm down. Initially, she had given in to the first panic and had kicked and screamed, tears coming. The suddenness of her imprisonment had brought the relaxation. Having exhausted herself she had passed out, which, upon reflection, had probably saved her._

_ "Bastard," She growled bitterly. She didn't even remember how he had gotten to her. It must have been when she'd gone to bed. They'd argued loudly, something, that in the back of her mind, she knew better than to try doing, but she hadn't been able to control herself. The stress of being Iris was taking its toll. She was getting lost in the woman she'd created to hide herself. _

_ Every night she went to bed with him, she cried out his name, allowing him to dominate her. She gave a half-hearted fight because it excited him, but always knew to never let him see her full strength. She submitted when it was required. The darkness of what he was threatened to consume her. Laying in her prison she freely admitted to herself that he was trickier than any of the others they had fought against before. _

_ Unsure of how long she had been in there, she looked back at the events prior in an attempt to calm herself and find a way to hold him without making him suspicious. But…God, she was suffocating. She struggled against the confines again, trying to find a way out, to no avail. Tears filled her eyes and she sniffled. Fuck, she thought angrily, she should've listened to Lil. A drop of water hit her in the head. She looked upward at the hole. Someone was squirting water into it. Water. The only source of anything that she would get for a while. Struggling to angle her head so she could get the water, she opened her mouth and almost whimpered in relief when the cool liquid made its way down her throat._

_ "That's enough." She heard Rodrigo say. Footsteps came up to her, a shadow blocking the small stream of light she'd been using to gauge the days. So far, she'd counted two. She was on her third. "Now my dear, I'm sure you understand why you're being punished." He gave a tsking sound, "I warned you what would happen, but you didn't listen. Do you think you'll behave if I let you out?"_

_ "Yes." Her voice sounded stronger than she thought it would._

_ "Hm. I don't believe you." He fell silent and after several minutes, she had begun to think he'd left. Then his voice was louder, indicating that he was right at the source of her air. "Iris, Iris. They say you can't be tamed. While it makes me enjoy fucking you, knowing that I will tame you makes me more excited to fuck you when I've broken you. You'll stay in there until I'm satisfied."_

_ "Rodrigo," She rasped, "This was unnecessary."_

_ "Of course it was." Impatience laced his words. "Do not try to employ the submissive female. We both know it's a lie right now. You will be submissive, but not yet. No. Definitely not yet. For now you'll stay there."_

_ Footsteps faded away from her prison. "Rodrigo?" A shadow fell across the sliver of light, cutting her off from her time source. "Rodrigo!"_

_ He was gone and instead of maintaining her composer, panic struck hard, "Rodrigo, you bastard! Let me out!" Her screams continued only to be ignored by everyone…_

Stephanie jerked awake sweating and gasping. In front of her were Ranger and both their teams looking at her concerned. Liliana looked at her with sadness in her eyes. She was the only one who knew the full extent of what Rodrigo had ultimately inflicted on Stephanie.

They were currently flying to Barcelona, where Stephanie would meet with one of her contacts. After flying back to Trenton briefly, so Ranger could take care of a few things at RangeMan and Stephanie could talk to her parents, they had departed to take care of the problem that is Rodrigo. They had booked a private plane so they wouldn't have to worry about the confines of a regular plane.

They weren't far into the flight, but Stephanie had fallen asleep shortly after the take-off, getting some much needed rest. Ranger had sat next to her working on his laptop before moving to go over things with Preston. And then Stephanie had begun thrashing around. Ranger's initial reaction was to wake her, but having seen soldiers in the past relive a traumatic experience told him to stay back and let Stephanie come out of it on her own. She had screamed, catching everyone's attention. From the look in her eyes now, she was trying to calm herself.

Up until now, Stephanie hadn't had any flashbacks of what he had done to her. Based on the way everyone was looking at her, she knew she had been pretty vocal in what happened. She swallowed as she met everyone's gazes head on. "What?"

"Babe." Ranger sat next to her and took her hand. "What happened?"

"It was just a nightmare," She replied trying to shrug it off. "No worries."

"_Stephanie._" Liliana said glaring at her. "You haven't had that nightmare in years, have you?" She shook her head. "Going back to Spain is clearly bringing things back for you. It's time to talk and tell them what happened."

"No."

"Yes." Dash spoke up as everyone moved to sit back down, none of them straying too far from Stephanie. "Steph, we didn't see or hear from you for seven days. During those days we were scrambling to find out what happened. We thought Rodrigo figured things out and killed you. When we finally did see you, you had been beaten and whipped—and that's not including the parts you've kept to yourself. We're all working together and _now _we need to know what went down."

She looked like she was going argue more, but Ranger squeezed her hand, "Please, Babe." Stephanie felt her throat tighten when she saw the look on his face. His blank face was gone and in its place was the look of a man who wanted to help the woman he loved.

"Okay." She nodded and shifted in her seat. It was a good thing they had chosen the private plane, she thought, it would have driven her nuts flying on a commercial flight. Especially now. "Okay. I just…need some water."

Heading to the back of the plane, she got herself a small bottle of water and made her way back to her seat. Sitting next to Ranger, she curled herself into his side as he wrapped an arm around her, securing her to him. She let out a small sigh, feeling so comforted and safe within his embrace.

"We've told you that things got bad and I had to get out," Stephanie started looking at Bobby, Tank and Lester. They nodded and she felt Ranger nod next to her. "As Dash pointed out there were seven days where they were unable to locate or contact me. We've never gotten ourselves into a position where we couldn't find a way to get to each other. If any of us had ever been caught by the enemy, we always found each other quickly. Whether we got that person out quickly is a different matter—the point is, we didn't lose each other for significant amounts of time. That week was hell for them—and pure hell for me."

She paused and took a sip of water. "Rodrigo found out about Iris at a social function. All the well to do, rich, everyone who was anyone was there. Rodrigo was there because of he wanted to remind those he had in his pocket that he was technically in charge of them. He liked taunting them of that fact. At that time the best solution was to place Iris—me—at social functions he was sure to attend. So we did. Iris made friends with anyone and everyone, carefully never staying long enough to interact with Rodrigo."

"We wet his appetite for her." Liliana supplied. "We had heard rumors of the types of women he likes. Usually they were completely submissive, with an occasional stubborn streak in them. He liked breaking them. We were running a long shot by creating someone no one could tame. Someone who could be your best friend one moment, and the next having everyone turned against you."

"I told you before, Carlos, Iris is the antithesis to myself." Stephanie said softly. "She could be very cruel at times. There are things I'm not proud of having done while portraying her."

"Babe, I've been there. There are things I'm not proud of either." He told her, squeezing her gently.

"Iris was a contradiction." Braden said as he poured himself a glass of brandy. "It was brilliant really. People knew not to piss her off because they never knew what she was going to do them."

"At the same time, she could show an incredible amount of unselfish kindness." Dash contributed.

"Ultimately, it made Rodrigo want to meet her." Stephanie said. "So when we got word, we made sure I stayed around at the next function for him to actually reach me. Beforehand, he had always seen me, but never spoken or touched me.

"We finally met at a garden party. Rodrigo can be very charming and courteous when it suits his purpose. And meeting me suited his purpose greatly. He was enamored with Iris. The idea of there being someone he couldn't tame was a huge challenge to him. I allowed him to woo me. He took me to dinner, dancing, etc. At that time he was nothing but a perfect gentleman. If it hadn't been for the information we had on him, I would never have guessed how sadistic he truly is. I played coy for a couple months with him. Then I became his lover."

Unable to look at Ranger, she cast her gaze to her lap, but Ranger tipped her chin up so that she met his eyes. "Babe, it's okay." He kissed her gently. The others in the plane looked elsewhere while they had the moment of intimacy. Liliana felt a little guilty for forcing Stephanie to talk about what happened, knowing she would have preferred telling Ranger in private, but given the violence of the nightmare she had just experienced, Liliana knew time was of the essence for Steph to deal with what had happened.

Sipping her water again, Stephanie was quiet for a couple moments before continuing. "Believe it or not, Rodrigo was very hard to get information on when it came to actually investigating his estate. Everything he's got is under lock and key, which was why everyone else had such a hard time finding what they needed on him. It was very difficult to move around freely, even given the status he had given me, which was more than what any other woman he had had been given. I was allowed to stay at his estate without him there, I could come and go freely. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get enough intel. We weren't authorized to execute him until we had concrete evidence to give to all the authorities who had an interest in seeing him killed. At that time we only had speculation, and very little evidence.

"Rodrigo made it his mission to try to control me. He wanted to prove to everyone that there was no one he couldn't control. And well…even as Iris I don't respond to being told what to do very well." She gave a weak smile that was returned with grins from the Merry Men. Ranger squeezed her. "We went to a party one night and during that party I had flirted with other men, part of the charm Iris had. Needless to say, it pissed Rodrigo off. When we returned to his estate that night, we got into a huge argument. He didn't hit me, but I could tell something had shifted in him. I meant to leave that night, but I didn't. I went to the guest room he had set aside, thinking he'd calm down in the morning and things would work themselves out.

"When I woke the next morning, I wasn't in my room." Stephanie swallowed a couple times. "I was locked in a box. It was smaller than a coffin with little room to move. All the training I'd gone through went out the window and I fought like hell to get out of it, but he'd made it impossible. I spent two days in there before I heard from him. He was punishing me for my behavior, telling me he had every intention of breaking me, claiming it was going to be his triumph. I tried to get him to let me out, but he left me there for another two days. I nearly screamed in pain when the lid was lifted off the light hurt so badly."

She closed her eyes against the tears that threatened and clenched her fists together. One of Ranger's hands pried one of her hands open and interlocked their fingers together. She clutched it like a lifeline as she continued. "He took me to his bedroom and made me strip. He tied me up and whipped me. Afterward, he let me down and made me go to the bed." The several sharp intakes of breath made her flinch away from everyone and into Ranger's chest. "He…he…"

"Beautiful, did he rape you?" Lester asked softly, moving over to sit on the other side of her.

Stephanie looked at him. "Would you call it rape when you willingly lie down with the devil?" Before he had a chance to answer, she ventured on, only wanting to tell this once. "It made him hard, knowing he had whipped me into submission. The pain of lying on the bed on my back just excited him more while he took what he wanted. Once he was finished, he let me eat. While I ate he told me how he expected things to go. He wanted me to fully submit and to forgo everything I had been doing before. When I refused he gave into his rage and hit me—beat me, then locked me back in that damn box for another two days."

She looked up toward the men on her team and saw the rage on their faces. Ranger was barely suppressing his own rage. Six days she had spent locked in a box, he thought, six days of terror, or isolation, with no way to move, to eat, to do anything.

"He finally let me out. He wanted to know if I had learned my lesson or not." She gave a sardonic laugh. "I had learned a lesson, though not what he wanted. It took a little while, but I convinced him to keep appearances for now. I told him there were better ways to show his dominance over me than to let everyone see the beating he'd given me. _That _took convincing because he wanted to proudly display his handy work. Which was unusual for him. Everyone just knew what he was capable of without seeing it.

"I went back to my estates, where they finally got to me." She motioned to Liliana and her team.

"After that, we knew that Rodrigo would inflict more torture on her like that unless we got her out," Liliana picked up the story. "We kept her hidden for several days so we could take care of her wounds. A couple of the marks from the whip had gotten infected and it took time to heal. She's lucky none of them scarred."

"We concocted an elaborate escape, a very brutal car accident," Preston said quietly. "Then we took Steph back to the states. Reggie took one look at her and locked her up at Fort Benning. It was a couple months before we saw her again. At that point, she was done. Iris was put behind her, and she was going back to civilian life."

"All this time, Steph…" Lester hung his head. "I…everything makes more sense now." He leaned over and squeezed her free hand. "Beautiful I am so damn sorry."

"Shit. Stiva." Bobby said suddenly. Tank and Lester grimaced, remembering Stiva's treatment to her on that case.

"After that, I took a trip," Stephanie admitted. "I flew out to my place and spent a week beating the shit out of the punching bag in the gym."

"I finally stun gunned her to make her stop." Liliana said. "I knew what happened and what it caused, but she was pushing herself too far."

Ranger stood suddenly, taking Stephanie with him. "We're to be left alone." Then he took her to the bedroom. He shut the door behind them and locked it. He gently laid her on the bed. Stephanie, realizing she was still clutching his hand, slowly loosened her grip, her eyes widening at the sight of the half-moon shapes that appeared to be permanently indented on his hand.

"Carlos," She whispered staring up at him, her voice was small, even as a whisper, "Do you hate me?"

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-) Promise!<strong>


	16. Chapter 15

**AN: Thanks for the terrific reviews everyone! I'm glad everyone liked the previous chapter. This one is a bit shorter, but I couldn't see it going past where I ended it. Hope you guys enjoy it! :-) **

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 15**

Ranger didn't answer her. He moved to the center of the bed, crossed his legs and pulled her into his lap. He angled her so that she was facing him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Automatically, her arms went around his shoulders while his were at her waist, stroking up her back. Their eyes met and they locked gazes.

"I was captured by Colombian rebels and tortured for three days. Do you remember me telling you that?" He asked. She nodded. "Like you, I was undercover. I was there infiltrating a drug cartel's organization. I had done my job effectively and gotten all the intel we needed. The rebels who took me had recognized me from my role in the organization and decided they would punish me for the wrongs of the Cartel."

"Oh, Carlos." She whispered

"They tied me down so they could beat me. They whipped my feet to ensure I couldn't escape from them. They tried to get me to talk, to get the information they wanted. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince them I was on their side. They wanted me to beg, but the training I'd gone through taught me not to, no matter what. When the beatings didn't work, they resorted to dunking me. I still refused to break. At one point during the beatings I'd realized that it wouldn't matter what I said to them. As far as they were concerned I was the enemy. Dunking didn't work either. Are you familiar with the Cat O' Nine Tails, Babe?"

She nodded, fearing where this story was going. She'd seen that whip in use—worse, she'd used it at one point. Ranger continued, "They used that on me for hours. I felt like my back was on fire. I was sure it was going to kill me. At that point after everything they had done to me, I welcomed the thought of death. But they weren't done. They continued using various forms of torture on me hoping that at some point I would tell them what they wanted to know."

"Carlos," Stephanie whimpered tightening her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly, "Oh, god. You were in Hell."

"During those three days Tank, Bobby and Lester were frantic to find me. Everything else in the mission had gone according to plan, with the exception of my sudden disappearance. Luckily, Tank knew me well enough to know I wouldn't abandon anyone. They searched until they were able to find me." As he spoke, his hands ran up and down her back soothing her through this painful tale. "I'm a little hazy on the extraction. By the time they'd gotten to me, I was ready to die. I didn't recognize Tank at first and had tried half-heartedly to fight him off before I realized it was him."

Pulling back, Ranger looked back into her eyes. "Hearing this, Babe, do you hate me?"

"What?" Stephanie looked at him shock. "How could I possibly hate you? You were being tortured! You could have died! You were a prisoner!"

"Much like you." He said.

"No," Stephanie shook her head vehemently, "Mine was different. I chose to go on that mission."

"I chose to go on that mission." He echoed, countering her argument.

"I knew the risks."

"As did I."

"I…." Stephanie faltered her arms hanging limply off his shoulders as she looked at him.

"Babe, how can you ask if I hate you for going through your own Hell? The situations were different, but you were still tortured." He cupped her cheek and kissed her softly. "He locked you in a _fucking box_ for six days. He used psychological torture on you before raping you—and yes, babe, he raped you—and beating you. You survived and you got out. There is no shame in what you had to do."

She stared at him, tears filling her eyes. A dam of emotion shattered its confines and burst forth in a tidal wave of grief and rage. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, tightening her hold on him for dear life. Every ounce of pain she felt toward that last mission emptied itself as she cried onto his shoulder.

"Babe…" Ranger murmured softly as he cradled her tightly stroking her back. He placed a soft reassuring kiss on her shoulder and continued to hold her.

/\/\/\/\/\

Lester hung his head miserably as he thought of everything Stephanie had just told them. He felt like the world's biggest ass. He had no hesitancy in ripping her a new one without knowing all the facts. Hearing what she'd gone through and seeing her be the woman they all knew and loved, made him realize how much effort she put into locking Iris down.

"What's going through that mind of yours, Sexilicious?" Reika sat next to him and traced the crease between his brows.

"I was an ass." He said gruffly.

"Yeah, you were." She nodded. "You didn't know all the facts either, so the assness was understandable."

"Now I do and it's not."

She laughed. "Oh please, Lester. We all have moments we're not proud of. You and Steph moved on from your disagreement. She didn't tell all of you what happened to make you feel guilty. She did it because we forced her hand. _We_," She motioned to Preston, Braden, Dash and Liliana, "knew exactly what needed to be done. Steph had to talk to you guys so you would know what happened."

"How the fuck didn't we know everything?" Braden demanded.

"I knew about the rape." Dash admitted quietly. "It was about a year after she'd gone back to Trenton. She called me for a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Preston asked.

Dash shook his head. "She called and I went. Even if she's not officially working for the government anymore, she's still our leader."

Everyone nodded. Lester rested his elbows on his knees. "Why didn't you call someone to help you? They could've sent us, Rangers, who got people out of situations like that."

"Les," Lil gave him a small smile, "You know full well the government doesn't actually acknowledge our particular teams. We're given free reign most of the time. It's what makes us so effective, but that doesn't mean they're going to go in and save us if something happens. Rodrigo was simply one of those situations. But remember this, by going in, you'd have blown her cover and who knows what could've happened that way. Feel free to feel like an ass, but don't think for one minute Stephanie holds that against you. She's surprised as it is that all you've all reacted as well as you did."

"Bombshell's always had our backs." Tank said folding his arms over his massive chest. "We ain't gonna pass judgment without all the facts." He shot Lester a look. "Especially now that we know her skills are much more than we thought."

Lester nodded his head. "What can we do to help this time that we haven't already planned?"

Liliana looked at the door toward the bedroom. "Just be prepared. Steph might be prepared to psychological fuck Rodrigo six ways to hell, but she's got herself to deal with too."

/\/\/\/\/\

Stephanie felt limp. She was still wrapped around Ranger, but her body felt emptied. Tensions she didn't remember being part of her dissipated. Silence engulfed them with an occasional sniffle from her. Her head lay on his shoulder, his hands still calmingly moving up and down her back bringing peace and reassurance.

"I'm sorry," She finally broke the silence, "I don't know what got into me."

"Babe." He shook his head. "You don't have anything to apologize for. You've overcome something terrible and it amazes me to think back on things you've survived and how you never snapped."

"It was hard." She whispered. "Especially with Stiva. If you and Tank hadn't been at his house when I showed up, you never would have found him. It was worse than when Abruzzi got ahold of me. It took so long to hold that part of myself down and not visit every pain Rodrigo had delivered to me onto him… so in a way, you saved Stiva and me that day. Him from me and me from me."

"I'll always save you, Stephanie." Ranger pulled her head up to look her in the eyes. They were blood shot and red rimmed, the blue of her irises shining brilliantly, but she was still the most beautiful woman to him.

She smiled. "I know."

"You are so strong, Babe." He murmured. A thought struck him and he cupped her face in both hands, "How did you find the strength to even be intimate with a man again after what he did?"

Stephanie looked at him for a few long moments before finally saying, "They told you out there, it was a couple months before they saw me again. Well, during those couple months Reggie kept me on lock down at Ft. Benning. While I finished healing from the beating and whipping he helped me get used to small spaces again, not boxes, but we'd noticed that I was having a hard time with anything enclosed, even a fucking bathroom. I saw a psychiatrist, did what they recommended to help, which mostly worked. Physical intimacy was tougher to deal with, but they worked with me so that I could let people, not just men, actually touch me. My team was different. I knew them and trusted them. When I returned to Trenton and my mom set me up with Dickie, I realized that if things got serious I'd have to have sex with him and that thought terrified me. I could let men touch me to a certain point, but that point wouldn't go far with Dickie. So, I called Dash and asked him to come to Trenton."

Pausing, she gave a look of guilt and said, "When Dash got there, I told him when I needed. I trusted him. We had the same training. If I reacted badly and tried to physically hurt him, he'd be able to defend himself without hurting me. We had sex and he made sure I knew it was him and not Rodrigo." She bit her lip, "I guess in hindsight, I shouldn't have been too upset that Dickie slept with Joyce then."

"Babe," He shook his head, "That's completely different. Dickie didn't know what happened to you, nor did he know you really could have killed him on the spot."

"No, I suppose that's true." She murmured. Absently her hand came up to trace the outlines of his shoulders. "Carlos, do you think you can do something for me?"

"Yes," He said without hesitating.

"Will you make me forget for a few hours?" She whispered.

"Yes," He brought her face down to his and pressed their lips together, softly at first then more demanding.

They moved slowly together, clothes being discarded. Ranger kissed every inch of her, trying to erase the pain she'd endured in the past and showing her how much he loved her. Stephanie cried out when his tongue slipped between her legs and drew her to a shattering orgasm. As she came down, Ranger massaged and caressed her body, loving her completely.

He submitted when she rolled them over so that she straddled him. Gave her control when she traced the crevices of his abs with a feather light touch that drove him wild. Writhed under her when she took him into her mouth, begged for release when he was sure he couldn't take it any longer.

And nearly wept when she crawled up him and slid him into her. He sat up sliding his arms back around her, and together they moved, seeking their release. Her head fell back, giving him access to her neck. Her hands tangled in his hair as his teeth nipped at the joint where her neck and shoulder merged.

As they drew close, their eyes met and together, Stephanie and Ranger shattered whispering words of love to each other.

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-)<strong>


	17. Chapter 16

**AN: Thank you for all your reviews! They're terrific! I love getting them :-) **

**Disclaimer: Not mine and not making any money! Just playing with them!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 16**

Liliana stepped into the gym and looked around. Reika was moving on a stationary bike, her eyes fixated across the room. Following her friend's gaze she saw Stephanie beating the punching bag to death. She walked over to the tread climber next to Reika and got on.

"How long has she been at it?" She asked.

"A couple hours." Reika answered. "If she doesn't let up by the time I'm done on the bike, I'm calling Ranger down."

"Why isn't he down here now?"

"Steph made him promise to call RangeMan and take care of things." She shook her head. "I think she needed time for herself and Ranger took the hint."

Liliana nodded and leveled up her machine. It was unsurprising to see Stephanie down here. She had a feeling before this mission was over Stephanie would be all but living in the gym. Well, she thought a little smugly, she might have tried that before Ranger and his team joined them. Now though, Ranger won't let her hide away.

Stephanie continued to punch the bag with a fierceness she forgot she had at times. Every time she needed to release frustration she usually visualized a face. The face she was visualizing right now was her own. Or Iris, she thought irately. Rodrigo might hate Iris for getting away from him, she reflected, but not as much as she hated Iris for everything that happened.

_Face it, Stephanie, you need me_. The voice in her head taunted, making her strike at the bag harder. It was like an irritating tick in the back of her mind. If she could reach in and yank Iris out to kick her ass that way, she would do it in a heartbeat.

As badly as she didn't want to admit it, she knew she needed Iris, but she had to find a way to keep her at bay long enough to do this mission and get out. Then Iris could go back to the dark depths of her soul and mind and never have to come back again.

_When are you going to realize I am you? You can't fight me, you can't destroy me. You can accept me and become whole. _I am whole, she thought angrily. _Not until you accept me you're not._

Sweat slid down her back as she continued to move, ignoring the voice she grew to hate in her head. She couldn't let Iris take over this time. She had to control her. The plan they had devised to work herself back into Rodrigo's sights was precarious at best, but she had to make it work and in order to do that she had to make sure she was in full control.

_It isn't about control. It's about acceptance. _

Ranger came into the gym and looked over at her. He watched her, knowing she was fighting an internal battle that he couldn't help her with. As badly as he wanted to go in and help her, there were things she had to do herself.

"Ranger, up for a spar?" Dash asked moving past him towards the mats.

He nodded and followed him. Shoes and shirts were abandoned and they began circling one another. Dash knew Stephanie told Ranger everything. It had been a quick passing moment. Ranger walked by Dash and simply said, "Thanks." It told Dash all he needed to know.

While the two men sparred, the two women in the gym conversed over their plan.

"Well," Reika said, "We know Rodrigo doesn't believe she's dead, after all, he took Ranger to prove it."

"So we hope others will buy the story we've spun for her five year absence." Lil surmised.

"It's completely plausible." Reika nodded. "People can get amnesia all the time."

"True. It's not like we rushed anything."

Everything they had done when they "killed" Iris had been done at a steady pace. The household had managed the estate and sold it off appropriately. The body couldn't be identified, but because the car Iris drove was _only _driven by Iris they had worked with that. As it was, they decided after Iris regained her memories she needed to regain some of her fortune, which had been hidden away.

They knew many people were going to assume it had something to do with Rodrigo, and Stephanie planned to play up to that. She was going to wreak havoc on Rodrigo's mind. They knew she was looking forward to it. Either out of revenge or a sense of closure, they knew she was going to enjoy it.

"What do you say we go make our fearless leader take a break? After all, tonight's going to be big." Reika said powering off her machine.

"Sounds good."

/\/\/\/\/\

The masque was one of the highlights of the year for many. Lady Adela Perez held it at the same time every year. Those who counted themselves lucky enough to be invited were not foolish enough to miss it for anything less than death in the family.

Adela was a smart woman though, and made sure she invited Rodrigo. Despite her own power, she was very aware that Rodrigo's was greater. She had a teenage daughter to think about and she was not about to let his administrations get to her child.

_Ahh, Iris, _she thought idly, _I hear rumors of you being alive. How I wish it were true. You were the only one who could have stopped him. _She gazed around her masque with pride, noting all the different costumes. It didn't take much to guess who was who.

A man swept up to her and graciously asked her to dance. With a smile, she nodded and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. "Frederick, I wasn't sure you would make it."

"Adela, my dear, if there's one thing I never fail to attend, it is one of your glorious functions." He gave her a charming smile.

"How is your sister?"

"Safe." He replied, glancing around trying to spot Rodrigo. "Your daughter?"

"I play safely around him to keep her safe." She murmured. "Have you heard the rumors?"

"Of?"

"I've heard my servants whispering that Iris lives." Adela said quietly. "Do you think it's true?"

Frederick leaned close to her, so that his lips were next to her ear, "Tis no rumor, my dear. She lives."

"They say her car accident caused her to get amnesia and now that she's regained her memory, she's out to reclaim what's hers." Adela said. "I'm glad I bought her estate. If she's alive, I can give it back to her."

"Adela," Frederick pulled her close, "do you really believe there was a car accident?"

"No," She admitted as she was twirled in dance. When she was drawn back to his chest, she sighed, "I think she had to get away from Rodrigo and orchestrated an elaborate escape. One that would fool everyone."

"And yet you're not fooled."

"It's simply speculation. The amnesia could be true, but I don't hold it against her if she did need to escape. Though, I would like to know if things will continue with Rodrigo. He'll torment her for sure. There are whispers that what he did to her was much, much worse than any of the girls he has ever taken."

"If anything happens between Rodrigo and Iris it will be to the death." Frederick told her.

She pulled away and looked at him studying his eyes through his mask. "You know something."

"I do."

"Will you tell me?"

"It's not safe to tell you. I value you too much to say anything." Frederick replied.

"Frederick," She murmured, "Will you visit me tonight?"

"Don't I always when I am in Spain?"

"Someday, I will convince you to stay with me."

"Someday." He agreed and released her when the song ended. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. His fingers tightened around hers briefly before releasing them.

"Adela, I would love to steal this dance," Rodrigo said from behind them.

"Of course," She said, taking his hand. She cast a glance back at Frederick and noted the dark look in his eyes.

"Your masque is a hit as usual," He told her as they began to dance.

"Thank you." She murmured.

They danced silently for a few moments. Rodrigo looked up and almost started in surprise. A pair of violet eyes stared at him from across the room. They twirled and when he looked back they were gone. The hair on the back of his neck rose and they continued to dance. He began tensing when he saw the eyes again, this time on the dance floor, but before he could try to get a good look at the woman she was gone.

"Rodrigo, you're squeezing too tight." Adela said drawing him out of his stance.

"Apologies." He loosened his hold on her and looked around trying to find those haunting eyes. "Tell me, Adela, do you have any friends with unusual eyes?"

"Unusual eyes? No, no one since Iris, God rest her soul." She said, trying to remain calm and keep hidden her new secret.

"What would you say if I told you she wasn't dead?" He demanded.

"Rodrigo, you cared a great deal for her, it's understandable to be in denial about her death. You should grieve and move on," Adela lied, "There's someone out there for you."

"The only woman out there for me is Iris." He growled, "What do you know her death?"

"Just the car accident, nothing more." She replied.

"You would be very careful about concealing anything from me, wouldn't you?" He looked down at her and she barely suppressed the shiver of fear that threatened to engulf her.

"Of course. I have nothing to hide."

"Good. I would hate to hurt you."

"My daughter is off limits." Adela said fiercely, coming to protect her young.

"It is not your daughter you have to worry about." He brought a finger up to her cheek and caressed it softly below the mask covering her eyes. "I would take you."

"Me?" She whispered, her heart accelerating to a frightening level.

"You are not so old, madam, only what thirty-five? Your old husband wasted no time in making sure you were pregnant at such a young age." Rodrigo's smile was calculated, frightening. "I assure you, your daughter is perfectly safe from me."

When the dance ended, Adela hastily made her way out to a balcony to get some air. She had always been cautious of Rodrigo, but never outright terrified. She had always considered the fact that he would target her child, not her. The very thought of him having hold of her made her skin crawl and made her want to go and hide.

She was barely aware of how she got through the rest of her masque. She kept a sharp eye on Rodrigo and found herself intrigued every time he became focused on something. Everything about his demeanor would go rigid and he looked like he was seeing a ghost. At that thought, Adela found herself searching around. Was it possible that Iris had managed to infiltrate her masque? Was she there and Rodrigo had seen her? Could she get to her and warn her?

Then Rodrigo caught her watching him and she hastily went about her hostess duties, unwilling to allow herself to be caught in his grasp for even a moment. She wants to make sure she was alive and capable of helping Iris if she was indeed back.

As soon as the last guest left, she hurried to her room where she shut the doors and locked them, not wanting anyone to be able to get to her. She leaned back heavily against it and took deep breaths. She could not remember a time when she had been so terrified.

Adela screamed when a hand touched her shoulder. She jerked away, whirling around, whipping off her mask to find Frederick staring at her in surprise. "_Frederick!_" She flung herself into his arms.

"What is it? What happened?" He held her to him. "What did he do?"

"Nothing," She shook her head, "Just some threats."

"Tell me, please, _amante_." Frederick insisted. With a shuddering breath she recounted her conversation with Rodrigo and felt her lover's arms tense around her in an iron grip which comforted her more than her late husband could ever do.

"He won't touch you." Frederick vowed, "I won't let him."

"I want to help Iris." Adela said. "I don't want to be a scared, weak woman."

"Iris was strong and even she had to get away from Rodrigo. Besides, you are hardly weak." He smiled at her and ran a hand through her hair. "No one dares disrespect you."

"Oh, you know what I mean, Frederick." She retorted pulling out of his arms. She moved across the room, hands pulling at the laces binding her costume together. She looked over her shoulder at him with a sultry smile, "Are you coming, lover?"

He grinned and followed her. They spent the rest of the night falling into an indulgence they only received a few times a year.

/\/\/\/\/\

Damn her!

Rodrigo stormed through the halls of his home raging over the night's events. Adela had certainly been terrified of him when he threatened to take her. Good, he thought, if he found out she was actually helping Iris against him, he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her the same way he hurt Iris. Oh, it would break Adela much faster than it broke Iris, but nonetheless, lessons had to be taught. And he was the man to do it.

Those damned violet eyes haunted him all night. Everywhere he looked he saw them. He heard whispers that Iris may indeed still be alive. That piqued his interest as he stalked the masque trying to find the person behind those eyes. He had to make sure he got a hold of her.

Slamming into his room, he glared at the woman lying on his bed. He had his indulgences before the masque and left her tied to the bed post with orders that she was to be left there. She dared to glare at him.

"Bastard," She spat. "How dare you leave me here!" The defiance on her face held strong until she felt the back of his hand across her face. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away furiously, not wanting to give in.

"You are mine until I'm bored." He growled untying the binding. "On your knees."

"No."

He smacked her again. "You came to me willingly so your brother could play his games. Would you really want me to hurt Roberto after you sacrificed yourself? Hm? Imagine if something happened to his illustrious career. It would be a shame, knowing you could have kept it from happening."

She caved and got to her knees, knowing she would do what he asked as long as it kept her brother in his job. She made the noises he wanted, and responded when he called her Iris. She knew of Iris, knew he hadn't been able to control her. Heard the rumors that she may well be alive and she prayed that if Iris was alive she could come back to this hell and let everyone else live without fear.

/\/\/\/\/\

Adela sat enjoying her morning breakfast, feeling more relaxed than she had in months, or rather, since the last time she had seen Frederick. Only he could make her feel like this, she thought languidly. He did a wonderful job of making her feel treasured.

He had left early in the morning with business to deal with while he was in Barcelona. He would be back later in the evening. He always stayed for at least a week when he came. Adela wondered if she would be able to convince him to let her help Iris. If he knew where she was, maybe he could get a message to her. She had to do something. Last night had terrified her and she didn't want to have a repeat of that. She wanted to feel safe and it if it meant helping to destroy Rodrigo, then she would do what she had to.

While she contemplated what she wanted to do, one of the servants came hurrying in. "_Senora, _there is someone who insists on seeing you at this moment. I tried to stop her, but she had these men…" Her voice trailed off.

"It's quite alright, Selma. Remember what you agreed to when I hired you." Adela told her. Selma nodded hastily and retreated. All her servants were bound by confidentiality contracts to keep their silence on anything they saw or heard going on in her household. It had served her well over the years and she knew it would continue to serve her.

Adela smiled when her guests came into the room. "Iris. I wondered when I would see you again."

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-)<strong>


	18. Chapter 17

**AN: Hi, everyone! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! Sorry this took so long to get out. There were just some things I had to deal with in real life, so I got waylaid from the story. Hopefully I'm back on track :-) Enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, not making money, just playing!**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 17**

Iris strode forward with a smirk on her face. "Adela, you look well."

Adela motioned to the seat across from her and watched her. In five years much had changed. Her hair was currently resting just under her chin, with seductive curls that any man would want to tangle his hands in. She was toned, and there was something hardened in her eyes. No doubt from everything she had dealt with.

When she sat, she crossed her legs at the knee, and rested her left arm on the arm of the chair, leaning on it, while her right arm draped casually over the other side. The confidence she had exuded in the past was there in stronger force this time.

Her gaze traveled past her missing companion to the men that came with her. Her eyes widened marginally at the sight of large buff men, but then Iris had always had a thing for men, she recalled. They stood proud and rigid—as though they expected to jump to Iris's defense at any moment, which she suspected they would. They were different from the last men she had seen with Iris. She wondered what had happened to her during the last five years, but knew she was unlikely to find out.

"For a dead woman, you look good." Adela smiled.

Iris raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem surprised."

"I'm not a fool, Iris." She replied coolly. "You'll find most people think you're 'death' was an escape plan. While many applaud you for getting away, you've made enemies for doing it." She remained silent and waited for Adela to continue. "I've heard some men curse you for not staying so their wives and daughters would be left alone."

"It wasn't their decision."

"Maybe not," Adela agreed, "But rest assured, if it had been, they would have sacrificed you to save dozens."

"Then I'll be glad it wasn't up to them." Iris replied.

Adela broke out in a brilliant smile then. "What brought you back?"

"Would you believe I got my memories back?" Iris cocked her head. At the shake of her head, she laughed softly. "I didn't think so."

"Most won't believe that. Those that will are young and romantic and have yet to feel Rodrigo's wrath upon them."

"Do I still have your confidence?" She asked seriously now.

Adela hesitated. "I—yes."

"Why do you hesitate?" She demanded. "Has he threatened your daughter?"

"No, not my daughter. Me."

Both of her eyebrows rose. "You?"

"I'm not exactly old, Iris. I'd say I'm only a few years older than yourself, if that." Adela retorted with an indignant look.

"I wasn't implying that you're old. It's just unusual for him."

"Not in this case. He's not a stupid man. He knows how close we were." She sighed and sagged back into her chair. "Frederick was so angry. I thought he might try killing Rodrigo himself."

"And you stopped him?" Iris chuckled. "Did you use your feminine wiles on him?"

Adela's head shot up and they stared at one another before bursting into laughter. The old conversation flooded her mind as she recalled their jokes about the power of feminine wiles. It had started shortly after they'd met. Adela had seen how much sexuality Iris exuded with little effort. She seemed to know what it was she wanted and she went after it. Before she met Rodrigo, men drooled over her and she had been known to take one night stands. Adela had teased her one afternoon, and Iris's response had been, "_I've got to use my feminine wiles on someone. Who better than the willing men?"_

"What really made him stop?"

"I told him I want to help you." She said. "He wouldn't tell me anything he knew, but I'm going to help you."

Iris sat up straight and gave her a long look. She studied the face of the woman she'd formally known. Other than a few gray hairs she was supposed to have (and more than likely had hidden under hair dye) Adela still looked good. But her chestnut eyes betrayed a fear she had never seen there before.

"Even with Rodrigo threatening to take you?" Iris said leaning forward. "Do you have any idea what he could do to you?"

"Not anything he hasn't done to any other girls he's taken—or to you." She said, lifting her chin—daring Iris to prove her wrong.

Iris gave a sardonic laugh. "Believe me, Adela, what Rodrigo did to me makes everything you've heard sound like child's play."

"Then why did you come back?"

"To kill him." Iris replied calmly.

The two women stared at each other. Adela tried to see some kind of remorse in Iris's violet eyes, yet saw none. She saw determination, and something more but she couldn't place it. Her heart galloped hard in her chest. Could she go through with whatever Iris had planned? Did she dare risk bringing Rodrigo's wrath upon her if Iris failed? She thought of the night before and the terror she felt. Never again did she want to feel like that. So whatever Iris had planned, she wanted in.

Her chin lifted. "What can I do to help?"

"I need back into social events."

"Are you sure that's wise? If you're going to kill him, why not go up to him and shoot him?"

Iris let out a good humored laugh at that. Behind her, the men she brought looked like they were thinking about laughing too. Looking to the side, and said, "Tell me, Rico, where's the fun in just walking up to Rodrigo and killing him?"

"No fun at all, Ms. Iris," He said, a nice thick Spanish accent coming through. Adela felt a hot flash sweep through her at the sound of his voice. She eyed him. Good Lord, she thought, wishing she had a fan, he was delicious.

"My, my Iris!" Adela giggled, "You certainly do know how to pick your guards."

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "I love big men. Cuban men are _the _most satisfying."

"You don't say?"

"And those men are _mine._"

Adela laughed. "Oh believe me, Frederick definitely satisfies. I have no desire to take your men."

"Good, because we all know how I feel about sharing." Iris smirked.

"And how do they feel about sharing you?" Adela couldn't help but ask.

"They know who is in charge. " She waved a dismissive hand.

The women shared conspiratory smiles, then turned back to the reason Iris had come to see Adela. "Iris, what do you plan to do other than kill him?"

"He took something that belonged to me."

"So you need to get it back."

"No, I've already got it back."

Adela felt confused. "I don't understand."

"Apparently, Rodrigo has never believed me to be 'dead'." Iris told her. "He took something in attempt to lure me out. Unfortunately for him, he didn't count on me taking it back before he could get his hands on it."

"Okay." Adela said, still not entirely sure she understood where Iris was going.

"Rodrigo is a master at psychological torture," Iris said, realizing she still hadn't gotten through to Adela yet. "He planned to fuck with me by taking something that belonged to me."

"Now that you've gotten it back, you plan to return the torture." Adela said. "To drive him crazy before you kill him."

"Yes. And I've been meaning to tell you, your masque last night was brilliant. One of your best."

"You were there!" She gasped. "No wonder he looked so odd!"

A small smile played at Iris's lips. "Now, can you help me reacquaint with the social circles?"

"You snuck into my masquerade." Adela said. "It doesn't seem like you actually need me."

"Of course I need you." Iris leaned back. "But you're putting yourself at a great risk by helping me."

"I'm not going to allow him to scare me." Her words were firm. "My daughter is away right now, I know she's safe."

"Very well." Iris nodded, then rose. "I'll contact you when I need to go out."

"Of course."

"It's good to see you too, Adela." Iris smiled, an affectionate smile. "Your advice at times in the past few years would have been welcomed."

"Perhaps when all is said and done you'll tell me your story."

"Perhaps." She was making no promises and they both knew it.

"Just remember, Iris," Adela rose as well, "There are those who curse you for disappearing. They will be your enemy almost as much as Rodrigo."

She nodded and left the room with the two men following behind her. Adela resumed her seat and sighed. She knew she was embarking on a dangerous adventure, but she had to find a way to stop Rodrigo. Too many people had been hurt and he had reigned fear over all of them for far too long.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Damn, Beautiful!" Lester exclaimed when they were in the car heading back to the villa. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Stephanie glanced at him and turned her attention back to the passing scenery, not seeing it. Her mind was reeling over her meeting with Adela. She was still a very powerful woman, she had no doubt about that. What had surprised her was hearing that Rodrigo was willing to hurt her because of her association with Iris. Rodrigo had never shown interest in Adela. He had always shown interest in others, but after he'd gotten a hold of Iris none had peaked his interest.

No, she thought, if he was threatening Adela it was because he knew it would get back to her and she would help her. She sighed and closed her eyes, taking comfort from the hand that squeezed her knee.

She fell into her own zone as the drive continued, ignoring all conversation around her, which only consisted of who was cooking lunch. Her eyes opened when they came to a stop at the villa.

Liliana was waiting for them in the kitchen. It was her turn to cook and she was making a seafood salad. "Hey, how'd it go?"

"They apparently both have feminine wiles they used to their advantage." Lester said feeling slightly dazed from the meeting they'd had.

"Well…yeah." Liliana shrugged. "I do too, and so does Reika. We're women. We want sex and enjoy it too."

"But this is Bomber." Lester looked like he was still having trouble reconciling who Stephanie had been and who he was used to seeing.

"Sorry, man," Dash walked in to the kitchen, "But she still had sex."

"Babe," Ranger gripped her hips and drew her back to his chest, "Let's walk."

She nodded and let him lead her out of the villa. They were quiet, enjoying the afternoon air. Their fingers entwined together and she let her head rest on his shoulder.

"I didn't expect him to threaten Adela." Stephanie said finally. "It's scary to think what he could put her through, but at the same time, I'm glad she wants to fight."

"You told her it was dangerous." Ranger said, "She's clearly had enough."

"You saw that too?"

"She's terrified, but she's going to fight."

"What concerns you?"

"It's her choice to do this and I applaud her for it, but I'm still scared of what he'll do to her." Stephanie shivered. "After everything he put me through, I'm afraid he'll do just as much, or worse, to her to get back at her for helping us."

"How likely do you think that is?"

She thought about it for a few moments. "I believe he would take her. I don't know how much he would put her through. I honestly think he'd hold her and find a way to terrify her until she gave me up."

"I think Adela will be fine." Ranger said. "She's got Frederick on her side, and we can watch her since we will more than likely spend most of our time with her."

"She caught the fact that we freaked Rodrigo out last night." Stephanie giggled. "You should have seen it, Carlos. Between me, Reika and Liliana, he looked like he was going to have a heart attack right there on the floor."

He chuckled. He hadn't liked staying at the villa last night but they'd all waited up to hear about their small mission. With the three women sporting violet eyes and different costumes, they'd set out to screw with Rodrigo and had fun doing so.

"Babe, Rico?"

She faced him, planting her hands on her hips. "What about Ms. Iris? Hmm?"

"Rico, Babe."

She snickered at the indignant look on his face. "It worked for the moment, Batman. Just be happy Lester didn't respond. Besides, you turned on your sexy Spanish accent and she looked like she was going to have an orgasm on the spot. I had a hard time not moaning when you did that!"

"Well, Babe," He said, his accent kicking in as he grabbed her and swung her over his shoulder, "I think I should remind you what my name is."

Stephanie giggled as she stared at his ass. "Sounds fantastic, Rico."

"Payback's a bitch." He informed her, thickening his accent more, and chuckling when she didn't bother to hide her moan.

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-)<strong>


	19. Chapter 18

**AN: I know. I know. I know. I'm very very very sorry. A month without updating is so not fair to y'all who have been following this story so faithfully. I just hit a point where I got stuck and nothing was helping anything click into place. Then I had a moment while I was out walking today that has hopefully helped me get the swing I need back. **

**So, for those of you who have reviewed this, thanks for the love :-) It means a lot to me. Please don't stop reviewing! Also, another note: I'm not Catholic, and I took a bit of liberty in a part of the chapter, so if I offend anyone who is Catholic, I apologize. **

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 18**

Helen Plum walked through Giovichinni's Meat Market pleased with her purchase. Some people thought she was completely obsessed with cooking a good meal for her husband, but she and Frank knew better. When they had first married, she could barely cook. They had spent many nights laughing over the disasters she had caused in their kitchen. Frank's mother had always glowered at her for not having a properly cooked meal for her boy. Frank never let her feel bad for it.

Then he went on a mission. Helen had nearly driven herself insane with worry until her mother suggested she find something to occupy her time with until she saw Frank again. She spent days trying to figure out what to do, until her mother in law opened up to her. She found out that Frank's mother used to bake all the time when his father was away for the military. It was calming for her.

With that knowledge, Helen had signed up for cooking classes at the community college. She wanted to have a variety of meals under her apron before Frank came home. She wanted to surprise her husband.

And had he been surprised! He was so enthused by her cooking, and her new bond with his mother, he spent a week keeping her to the bed. Nine months later, Valerie was born.

Cooking became her salvation when he was away. Not only did she gain a great reputation as a cook, but it gave her something to surprise her husband with. Valerie had been a wonderful toddler, so well behaved.

When Frank came home from his last mission, there was something that seemed missing inside him. Helen had made his favorites, and while he loved them, she knew it was not bringing him back to her the way he needed. She knew she could never ask him about what happened. He'd never be able to tell her.

Reggie had come to visit a few weeks after his return and told Helen about the multiple injures Frank had suffered. He said he was lucky to be alive. Helen had made love to her husband that night, thanking God over and over for bringing him back to her. She vowed to do whatever it took to heal his soul.

It was nine months later, when she gave birth to Stephanie, that she saw the light fly back into Frank's eyes. He looked down at the screaming infant and cooed at her. He held her in his arms and watched her. Helen loved her daughters equally, but she knew that she was forever grateful to her youngest for saving Frank.

The second time she had saved him was when Reggie and Cruise and Anders had shown up to take Frank with them. Stephanie had volunteered herself to go in his place. A place that had he taken, she never would have seen him again. Stephanie had been wild growing up, because she inherited her father's spirit. Valerie had inherited a calm and quiet demeanor, one that Helen never quite figured out where she got, and wished often she had encouraged her oldest to find something she was passionate about.

When that damned Anders agreed to take Stephanie in Frank's place, she wanted to kill him. Helen wasn't violent by nature, but she was certainly willing to make an exception. She spent the next eight years worrying that Stephanie wouldn't come home. Worrying that she would lose the spark Frank had lost.

Stephanie had come home, and while Frank could talk to her and help her readjust to life in the Burg, Helen had noticed the same thing she had seen when Frank came home. That missing spark. It broke her heart to see her baby girl missing something, but she knew cooking wouldn't bring it to her.

So, she pushed Stephanie to marry. She hoped she would find the right man to help bring her alive again. Dickie had been a colossal mess. Morelli had seemed like a possibility for a long time. There was a light in Stephanie's eyes, and when he started coming to dinners with her, she assumed it was because of Joseph that her daughter was coming alive again.

It was when she saw Stephanie and Ranger at a diner that she saw who was truly responsible for the life coming back to her. They didn't know she was there, or they may have and just never said anything, but she had seen how relaxed Stephanie had been. Ranger made her laugh. A carefree laugh she hadn't heard since Stephanie left at eighteen.

Frank and Stephanie had been trained in many ways, but neither knew just how much Helen Plum saw in her husband and daughter. They never knew that she saw how much they hurt from their jobs and how much they held in. They were the same in that they liked to deal with their pain and grief in private.

Helen dealt with hers in cooking, which of course, meant right now she was cooking enough to feed an army. She had made so much that taking food to the Soup Kitchens had been her next goal.

Right now, though, she was going to take the sausage home and make Stuffed Shells Florentine. It was a delicious meal, one she had made Frank when he arrived back from one of his missions. It was a favorite of his. They would invite Valerie and Albert with the kids, she decided. She needed to have some more family around. Her mother was being her wild self outdoors but inside, she was comforting and found ways to help keep things calm.

She left the market and walked across the parking lot toward her car when a hand grabbed her elbow. "Mrs. Plum?"

Turning Helen looked up at a large man dressed in black staring down at her. "Yes?"

"Ma'am, I work at RangeMan. Something has happened with your daughter. We need you to come with us right now." He said, his grip on her tightening. He started to drag her.

"Wait, what? What's happened? Tell me!" She demanded trying to break free.

"There's no time to explain. We have to get you to safety now." He replied,

"I need to talk to Frank." Helen persisted. Something was wrong with this man. He looked like a RangeMan, but failed to act like one. If something had happened to either of her daughters, she wouldn't find out through them. Frank would call if it had been Valerie. They would hear from Reggie if it were Stephanie.

No, this man was dangerous and she was not going anywhere with him.

"You can talk to your husband when we arrive."

"Arrive where?"

"Where we're needed."

"No, I'm not going with you." Helen dug her feet in and refused to move when he tried to drag her.

"It's imperative that you listen to me and—

"Mrs. Plum?"

Helen whipped her head around and found Joseph Morelli standing there. "Joe! How good to see you!"

"It's good to see you," He said, eyeing the man who was holding her elbow. "Wanna let her go man?"

"She needs to come to RangeMan immediately." The man said, but he was looking nervous. Joe was very intimidating when he was in cop mode, and the sight of the man was putting him in that position.

"Is that right?" Joe drew out his cell phone. "How about I call them? I know the boss. He'll talk to me. I'm sure he'd love to know why one of his men are man-handling women."

The man moved, shoving Helen on the ground, pulling out a gun and aiming for Joe, who was much quicker and drew his own gun on him. Two shots rang out. Helen looked around hoping to see Joe alright. He was leaning against a vehicle, holding his shoulder. He was on the phone calling dispatch. The other man laid next to Helen, lifeless eyes staring at her.

With a sharp gasp of shock, she staggered to her feet and backed up, running into Joe.

"Mrs. Plum, are you alright?" Joe asked looking at her.

"Am I alright? Joe, you've been shot!" She cried. "We've got to get you to the hospital!"

"An ambulance is already on the way," He assured her.

"He doesn't work for RangeMan." She said, feeling confident in that assumption.

"No," Joe agreed. "He doesn't." He pulled his phone out and made another call.

Minutes later the parking lot was filled with police, Rangemen, paramedics and onlookers. Frank pushed his way through the crowd to see his wife standing beside Joe. She took one look at him and rushed to his arms.

"God, Helen, are you alright?" Frank cupped her face in his hands. "Sweetheart?"

"He said it was about our daughter." Tears slipped down her face. She like the feeling coming over her. She was good with food, not feeling so weak. "He said he was from RangeMan, but I didn't believe him and he tried to drag me but Joe—he—he—"

"Shh, it's okay," He wrapped her back in his arms, a hand running up and down her back.

"Frank, I need to talk to her." Helen whispered. "I know it's not possible. I just—I just have to hear her voice."

"I'll see what I can do." He told her, and he would. Then he would talk to Ranger. He wanted protection on his wife until they figured out who had tried to take her.

They stayed long enough for Helen to give her statement to the police. Once she was free to go Frank took her straight home. Edna was waiting at the door and automatically took her child in her arms. Leaving the women, Frank walked into the dining room and pulled out his cell phone.

"General White."

"Reggie."

"Frank, what can I do for you?"

"For starters, you can tell me who the fuck just tried to have my wife kidnapped by using Stephanie as bait." He snarled. His blood was on fire. He wanted to hurt someone for making his wife feel like she did. He wanted to hurt the bastard who thought he could take Helen.

Reggie swore softly. "Damn it. Frank, I'm sorry. I'm sure I know who it is, but we didn't believe he would do this."

"Who?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

"Reggie, I suggest you start talking or I'll head to Benning and start making lives miserable." Frank threatened.

Reggie let out a sigh "Is this secure?"

"It's the phone you gave me."

"Good. Just a moment." There was a muffled noise, then Reggie came back. "You know the drill Frank."

"I know. This never happened."

"Right." Reggie took a breath. "You heard of Rodrigo Sanchez?"

"What of him?" Reggie's silence told him everything he needed to know. "You son of a bitch. You sent my daughter after that masochist? You dragged her back into this world to get him?"

"It isn't the first time, Frank." He replied. "She's the only one who'd gotten close. Last time things went bad. This time, with Ranger and his team, we fully expect her to succeed."

"What happened last time?"

"_That_ I can't share with you." Reggie said. "What I _can_, but shouldn't, tell you is that Stephanie's identity was well protected when she was on this assignment. Somehow it's been compromised and Rodrigo is trying get Stephanie back."

"So he targeted my wife?"

"We mistakenly assumed that once he knew where Stephanie was, he would focus solely on her. Unfortunately, with what happened to your wife, it appears we were very wrong."

"No shit."

"Frank, I am truly sorry." Reggie said.

He wanted to stay mad at his friend, but he knew what that life was like. He was all too aware of how things went. He also knew he had Reggie to thank for all the times Stephanie came back alive.

"She needs to talk to Stephanie." Frank replied. "This man scared her to death."

"I don't know how possible that's going to be."

"You'd better make it possible."

He hung up and walked back into the living room, where Helen was still encompassed in her mother's arms. She looked up at Frank and her eyes widened.

"Oh, Frank! The sausage!" She stood up. "I lost the sausage!"

"Helen, it's fine. We can have something else for dinner."

"Frank," She whispered, "Please. I need that sausage. I have to—I need to…" Her hands dropped helplessly to her sides as she looked at him imploringly. Suddenly he understood, remembering a conversation his mother had with him at one point. She had told him she baked while his father was away to keep her sanity. Helen learned to cook while _he _had been away to keep her sanity. It was something she continued when Stephanie went away.

"Alright, Helen. Let me call RangeMan and see if they can send someone to watch the house and I'll go buy you more sausage, okay?"

/\/\/\/\/\

Rodrigo walked up the steps to his church. It was long past due for him to make a confession. He was feeling particularly amiable with God these days and wanted to get his forgiveness.

Walking to the confessional, he sat down and waited for the priest.

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, and I will sin again, It has been three months since my last confession."

"What are your sins?"

"I have had impure thoughts of the woman who escaped me. I imagine her suffering at my hands, begging for mercy as I take the life out of her." Rodrigo couldn't stop the grin coming to his face. "I have attempted to take what belongs to her, yet she thwarts me every time."

"Are you sorry for these sins?"

"No, Father, I am not. I revel in the fact that when I find her I will show her exactly what happens to those who defy me."

"These dark thoughts are not healthy, my son. It would do you much better to embrace God, and let go of these sins."

"God is vengeful, Father, as am I." Rodrigo said. "He will understand."

He walked out of the confessional without hearing what else the priest might have to say. He stopped when he saw a pair of violet eyes watching him.

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-)<strong>


	20. Chapter 19

**AN: Thanks for all the great reviews! I love each and every one of them! :-)**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, don't own them, just playing with them. Not even making money!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 19**

Rodrigo watched as her lips curved into a challenging smile. His blood pumped with fire as she dared to turn and walk away from him. He couldn't resist the pull to her. He wanted to get his hands on her.

Mesmerized, he followed her through the streets of Barcelona. Every so often, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. When she saw him, she simply smiled and continued on her way. She was quick, and his own stride couldn't keep up with her.

He found himself following her into Labyrinth Park. It was a beautiful place, he could never deny that. The main attraction of course was the hedge maze in the center of it and instinctively he knew he would find her there. Even he could admit that he felt the history of the garden and the mansion that owned it as he moved throughout the intricate puzzle.

This time of day found the park empty, making it useful for him. If he could get hold of her, things would all fall into place the way they were meant to. It made him grin as he walked through the maze, trying to keep an eye on her.

He took the turns quickly, catching glimpses of her as she continued onward. He was so close. So near. To control her again…he could taste the victory in his mouth. Savored the idea of what he would do when she was his. This time there would be no compromise.

Rodrigo emerged in the center of the maze, where the Statue of Eros towered over him. Standing next to the statue was Iris.

"Eros, god of love, son of Aphrodite and Ares." Iris spoke. "Interesting, isn't it? The god of love born from the union of lust and war. A woman who was wild, and passionate, to be claimed by a volatile war god. There was simply something about him she could never resist. So they sleep together. Rather repeatedly, since Aphrodite's husband conceived a trap to catch them and humiliate them for their adultery." She talked as if she were speaking to a friend. "One would think they'd learn their lesson, but then the ancient gods never learned their lessons, did they? They always felt they were in the right.

"You're very brave, Rodrigo, to follow me here." She said, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You were very stupid to leave me Iris." He growled moving closer to her. She took a few steps back, keeping distance between them.

"You would have been left alone, in peace, if you had accepted my death." Iris replied. She moved so the statue stayed between them. "But you failed to do that. You declared to any who would listen that I was alive and well. Bold move, though I wonder how many people you control believe you're insane?"

"I am not insane." Rodrigo snapped. "Five years, Iris. Do you have any idea what I am going to do to you now that I've got you in my hands? And I will make you enjoy it,"

"You will never touch me again," She lifted her chin. Together they circled the statue of Eros. "You can't beat me."

"Ah, _querida_, I believe you're mistaken. It is you who cannot beat me." A cold menacing grin slid across his face, "That is why you faked your death, yes? I think, though, you still want me." He watched her carefully. There was something much different about her. That he could see. "You speak of two gods who were drastically different."

"I want you like I want the pox." She retorted. Lazily she stretched her arms above her head. "I would never consider you comparable to the ancient gods. You are volatile, yes, but god? No, most definitely not. Ares was probably much better in bed than you are."

A red haze clouded his vision. "You call me brave, yet you're the one who will end up in my hands and I will remind you of how things work."

Her violet eyes sharpened and narrowed on him. She gave a smirk. "I remember how things work, but you are clearly under the misconception that I will bow to you."

"Oh, I will make you bow." He glared at her. "I've done my research on you. I found you. Found that pitiful little city you were hiding in. Playing a part that was beneath you. Did you really believe I would let you go? I knew the moment you left me you would do something foolish."

"Ahh, yes, you did discover where I was. Care to share who helped you there?"

"She will remain nameless."

_She_. Their first clue into figuring out who had destroyed Stephanie's life.

"Then _she _failed to tell you I don't cooperate well."

"Oh, but you will." He moved forward. This time Iris didn't move. She stayed where she was. He got close enough to touch her. "I will make you beg. You can come with me now and I'll be slightly lenient."

She laughed, a low sound. One that said she didn't believe a word he said. "I will never cooperate with you, lover. It is not time for our conclusion yet."

"You think I'll let you walk away from me now?" He grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward him.

Iris flipped him over her, pinned him to the ground with a knife to his throat. "I think you have no choice. You don't have the man power to make me go with you, nor do you have the man power to stop me. You have severely underestimated me. Your contact, whoever she is, must not have informed you of my capabilities, which are many. You will walk away right now, leave this maze and this garden or I will begin visiting every single thing you did to me and to any other women onto you right now."

The pressure on him was released and he quickly sat up, looking for Iris. She had disappeared.

Unable to stop himself, because he truly felt he could overpower her, he searched the maze and gardens for her. There was no sign that she had ever been there. As he left and made his way home, he knew he would have to rethink his plan of action. Oh yes, Iris was different, he could see that as clearly as he could see his hand. He would win, though.

/\/\/\/\/\

"So, how's our favorite villain?" Braden asked cheerfully when Stephanie walked through the front door to the house.

"Still villainous." She replied and continued on her way to her and Carlos's bedroom. It had been a suggestion by someone that they have separate bedrooms which was quickly cast aside at the ugly looks they were received from the lovers.

Ranger was waiting for her when she walked into the bedroom, and he was barely holding onto his temper. "Babe."

"Carlos." Stephanie sighed. She knew where this was going.

"You promised we would discuss things, discuss your plans. Instead you leave this morning without telling anyone."

"It was something I had to do."

"Something you had to do without back up? Without one of us there to watch your back in case he tried to take you?" He growled.

"Yes, it was something I had to do." She snapped. "I had to show him I'm not scared of him."

"You made a promise, Stephanie." Ranger shot back. "A promise you broke. You didn't have to face him alone. I could have gone with you—anyone could have gone with you if you didn't want me there."

"You're making this more than it needs—"

"I'm angry because you went to a man who locked you in a box and raped you!" He strode forward and grabbed her upper arms. "Damn it, Stephanie! Do you know what it does to me to know he could get ahold of you again? What he did to you in the past? It kills me knowing what you went through. It's been five years since you've seen him. Do you honestly believe he doesn't have something worse planned? Rodrigo is insane. He will make what he did last time look like child's play."

"I handled myself." She defended. "I took a wire and I had plenty of weapons."

"And what would you have done if he'd brought men to take you down? How long would you have been able to hold out without any back up?" He released her and walked away, running his hands through his hair.

"Have you not seen me these last months, Carlos?" Stephanie demanded. "Have you not watched me retrain to become the person I was? Do you not believe I could've handled myself?"

"I believe you can handle yourself, Babe." He faced her again. "But I also believe you're going down a dangerous path right now."

"I was brought in to kill him."

"To kill him, yes. Fuck with him? No."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying—"

A hurried pounding on the door interrupted them. Stephanie shot a glare at it before yelling, "Come in!"

Dash walked in looking panicked. "Uh, Steph, we've got a problem." Following behind him was Tank who looked worried.

"It better be good," She snarled.

Dash held up a phone, "It's Reggie. He wants to talk to you."

"Report!" Ranger barked at Tank as Stephanie took the phone.

"Boss, I just got off the phone with Hal, who just finished talking to Morelli." Tank answered. "Apparently, someone just tried to kidnap Helen Plum under the guise of being one of your men. Morelli saw him talking to her, and intervened. When he said he'd call RangeMan to verify that he was indeed one of ours, the man started shooting. Morelli took one to the shoulder, but took out the man. It's being assumed by General White and the others, that it's Rodrigo trying to get to Bomber through her family. Mr. Plum called and requested bodyguards for his family, which Hal has already assigned."

"Good." Ranger nodded.

"That no good cock sucking son of a bitch!" Stephanie shrieked and stormed out of the room. "I should have slit his throat when I had him down!"

"Well, she's not a happy camper." Dash said.

"Ya think?" Tank looked at him.

Stephanie stormed down the stairs and found Liliana in the basement, where they had set up their "command center" for this operation. "Give me a secure phone."

Lil simply raised her eyebrows but complied quickly.

Dialing a number she waited for an answer. A gruff male voice answered, "Hello?"

"Daddy."

"Hi, pumpkin. Is it safe for you to do this?" He asked.

"It's secure. Can I talk to Mom?"

"Just a moment."

There was a muffled noise and then Helen came on, "Stephanie?"

"Hi Mom."

"Oh thank God." A deep breath of relief left her. "I'm sorry to bother you while you're busy, Stephanie, but after what happened, I just—"

"It's okay, Mom. I understand." Stephanie assured her. "I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm—I'm….I'm not really sure." Helen admitted.

"You're in shock." She told her mother. "You'll feel it later. When it hits, don't be afraid to lean on Daddy, okay?"

"Thank you dear. I might just spend the next several days in the kitchen."

"You don't have to do that, Mom. I'm sure Grandma or Daddy will be happy to take over for you so you can rest."

"Oh, sweetheart," Helen let out a small laugh, "I have to be in the kitchen. It helps me keep my sanity. When your father was in the Rangers, it kept me sane. When you joined whatever it is you joined, it helped again. Cooking soothes me."

"Okay, Mom." Stephanie smiled into the phone. "Go ahead and cook."

"Stephanie, when you come home, you and Carlos must come to dinner. I found a vegetarian recipe I would love to try. Since Carlos eats so healthy, I thought he would be the best to try it on." Helen told her.

_When_, not _if_, She noted. She couldn't hold the tears back. "Yeah, I'll make sure we'll be there. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, dear. Now get back to work."

"Sure. Oh, and mom?" Stephanie smiled again and said, "Cooking soothes me too."

She hung up the phone and leaned her head back. It bounced off a hard chest. Ranger's arms came around her and held her to him. She let the tears that built up fall. In all the missions she had ever been on, no one had ever targeted her family. That had been the point behind creating Iris. It was to make her untraceable. She was furious that Rodrigo had managed to get to her mother.

"I should have killed him this morning." Stephanie said out loud.

"Speaking of this morning," Liliana looked up from the computer she was working at and glared at Stephanie. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Yes." She replied. She looked up at Ranger, and whispered, "You were right. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, the rest of us didn't hear that." Liliana said loudly.

"And you weren't meant to." She shot back.

Ranger held her close as she rested her head on his shoulder. Leaning down, he whispered, "Don't worry, Babe. I've got my actual men on it now. They'll keep your family safe."

"I don't know how I'll ever thank Joe enough for keeping my mom from being taken." She replied.

"Just don't go back to him," Lester said from the entry way. "We can't deal with mopey Ranger if you do it again."

"Do I really need to beat you up again to prove how I feel about Carlos?" Stephanie asked.

"I wouldn't say you beat me up exactly…" Lester drawled.

"I would say that." Stephanie said cheekily.

"So, back to this morning." Liliana redirected the conversation. "What the hell, Steph? Going without backup?"

"I've already been lectured and have seen the error of my ways," She answered.

"Well, going past that, Reika and I've been listening to the audio from the feed. Thank you for at least getting some information out of him."

"What information?"

"We know whoever sold me out to Rodrigo is female." Steph said, "It doesn't narrow things down a lot but it still narrows it some. If you haven't already given the info to Reggie, send it to him securely. I don't want anyone else getting wind of it. He will be able to work on things over there while we focus on taking Rodrigo out."

"Lester, call Hal back, and make sure he puts men on Lula and Connie and Mary Lou. Make sure they don't know they're being watched. We don't want any suspicion aroused." Ranger ordered. "In fact, let Morelli know what's going on so he can keep an eye out for them as well."

Lester nodded and grabbed the nearest secured phone and started dialing.

"I'm going to the kitchen." Stephanie said and left.

Anger at herself and at Rodrigo bubbled beneath her skin, making her need to move. She had to do something so she chose to release her frustrations by cooking something very intricate. As she gathered ingredients to make a fish dish, she thought of her interactions earlier in the Labyrinth Garden.

Beginning to cook, she fell into her zone.

Part of her had reveled in the interaction with him. The desire to show him she didn't fear him, that he had no control over her had blinded her to the actual mission. She wanted him to see that she was far stronger than he had ever thought her to be.

All the while, he was having someone attack and attempt to take her mother. She heard the audio come alive below her and knew everyone was going over what happened. It was only a matter of time before they all came up for food and they would discuss what to do next.

"What next, indeed." Stephanie muttered.

"Babe?"

She jumped and whirled around. "Carlos! What are you doing up here?"

"Checking on you. They've played the audio twice since you came up." He replied.

She looked up at the clock. "Oh. Well. I didn't realize so much time had passed." She didn't realize she had been up here for almost two hours.

"I'm…frustrated." She admitted. "But we will figure out what to do next."

Ranger smiled at her. "Yeah, Babe, we will. Now," He leaned over the counter and kissed her. "About those gods, are you Aphrodite, the wild and passionate woman?"

"Actually, I was thinking I'm more the volatile war god."

"And that would make me…?"

"The wild and passionate woman?" Steph grinned cheekily at him.

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><p><strong>AN2: I studied classics in college, and for those of you who may be confused with my reference to Aphrodite as a lust goddess rather than love, it's based off what I learned from my professors. 99% of the time she brought lust out in people, whereas Eros brought forth love in them. Hence why I called her the goddess of lust.<strong>

**Please Review! They make me smile! :-D**


	21. Chapter 20

**AN: Um, apparently I've decided on monthly updates...I am going to work on that. I want to post a lot more here in the next couple weeks. I'll be going on vacation and I'd like to have this much farther along in that time. For those of you who are sticking with me and continuing to read and review, thank you so much. I can't tell you how much your support means to me. All of you who have reviewed, you're awesome. They all brought smiles to my face!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, not making money, just playing!**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 20**

Rodrigo looked at the girl closely. She trembled in his presence. It made him smile, knowing his power was so strong. "You're sure?"

"Yes, sir." She whispered. "Lady Perez has met Iris at her home."

"What do they speak of?"

"I don't know."

He walked forward and slapped her, enjoying her cry of pain. "That isn't good enough. Do you truly expect to save your brother when you bring me so little information?"

"Please—I've confirmed what you wanted to know!" She exclaimed, tears filling her eyes. "I've done what you asked!"

"Yes, you have." His smile was cruel as he gazed down at her. "And in doing so you've betrayed Lady Perez's confidence, haven't you? Is Roberto worth it?"

"He's my brother!" Her tears dried and defiance covered her face. "Wouldn't you want to protect your sister if you had one?"

Rodrigo shrugged. "I sold my sister."

"You sold your own sister? How? She's your family!" She gasped.

"It suited my purpose." He replied. "We are not discussing my past actions. We are discussing your current betrayal. Who do you hurt worse with this information? Lady Perez or your brother?"

"My loyalties lie with Roberto." Her chin lifted, daring him to accuse of her lying. "I will do whatever it takes to keep him out of your control."

Smiling, he brought his hand up and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. His trail went past her cheek, down her neck, where his finger tips found her pulse beating rapidly. Lifting his eyes to hers, he saw the absolute terror in them, and he felt himself harden gloriously at the sight. Wrapping his hand around her neck, he shoved her backward.

She landed with a small cry on the bed. Before she could make any kind of movement, Rodrigo was on top of her, securing her hands with one of his. Using his free hand, he tied her wrists together. She was shaking, despite having been in his bed many times before. Each time, she was afraid he would do something different. He always did. The only thing he did the same was to call her Iris and treat her the way he would that woman.

If she could find a way to hand Iris to him on a silver platter she would do it in a heartbeat. If was Iris's fault that she was in the position she was in now. If she had been submissive the way he wanted then no other woman would have to suffer.

"Rodrigo—" She cried out as the hot sting filled her cheek from his slap.

"Be quiet." He ordered. Crawling off the bed, he walked to his nightstand, shedding clothes as he went. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a large object. Moving so that he was standing at the foot of the bed, his victim looked up at him, horror crossing her face.

He stood before her, naked as the day he was born, holding a large knife, its silver glinting in the moonlight. He smirked at her. She looked like she was going to faint any second. That wouldn't do. He liked having responses from his bedmates. There was just something unfulfilling about taking a woman who was unconscious.

In a quick movement, the knife shredded the clothes she wore. Fear was replaced by indignation, "What am I supposed to wear home now?"

"It's not my concern." He replied. "Move over." When she moved so he could gather the ruined garments, she shot him a glare. Something told her to keep her mouth shut to avoid finding out if the knife would be used for anything other than removing her clothing.

He thought about it, she could see his cock getting bigger by the second as he wielded the knife in his hand. She briefly wondered what he could do to her without actually hurting her, but cast the idea aside. She wasn't here to enjoy his perversity. She was only here to protect Roberto. As far as she was concerned, he had a prominent political career ahead of him and as long as Rodrigo didn't ruing anything for him, things would go smoothly for her older brother. So she would lay here and do as was ordered.

Slowly she took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down so she could act as she was supposed to.

Rodrigo cocked his head, watching her. Debating. He could have fun using this knife on her. There were plenty of ways to utilize the magnificent piece of metal without killing her. With a mental sigh of disappointment, he set it to the side. It wouldn't do for the girl to go back to Adela Perez's home with any sign of injury. It might make the woman suspicious, and that was something he couldn't have.

Instead of going the route he would have liked, he stretched out on the bed beside her. Propping himself up on an arm, he ran a hand along her body, caressing a breast, squeezing a nipple.

As his fingers slid into her, he said, "I hope your brother appreciates what you go through for him. You will be mine for the many years of his lucrative political career."

She closed her eyes and silently cursed Iris for the predicament she was in.

/\/\/\/\/\

Moonlight filled the room as she crept in through the window. Rodrigo had definitely changed his security. From everything she understood it was _supposed _to be better than it had been previously. The fact that she could still get through it was laughable. She had been able to neutralize only one guard. To keep herself from being discovered, said guard was hidden beneath some rose bushes. If he was smart when he woke, he wouldn't suddenly jump up. Thorns were messy to deal with, Iris reflected as she surveyed the two sleeping figures.

A sick smile covered her face as she moved to the bed. She pulled out a couple syringes. She was right when she had presumed Rodrigo would have company. The company, however, was definitely not a good one. It meant she had one more person to protect.

A small voice in the back of her mind yelled for her to stop as she jammed the syringe into Rodrigo's neck and pushed the sedative through. If no other assassin could get through the way she had, she could simply kill him here and now and make all their lives easier. The mission would be over and she could go home. She and Carlos could go home and be happy. Everything was out in the open.

But she couldn't just kill him, she rationalized as she moved to the other side of the bed and jammed the syringe into the girl's neck. Rodrigo had tortured her. To kill him would be much too easy. He had to suffer as much as she had. Stuffing him into a box the way he had her wouldn't do the trick. No, she had to make sure he understood that _she _had the power. _She _owned him, and once he was completely broken—well, then she would kill him.

_Even though you know coming here goes against everything you agreed to with Carlos?_ Stephanie's voice broke through her reverie.

Iris shook her head to clear it of _Stephanie_. The problem with Stephanie was that she wouldn't enjoy this. She couldn't. So Iris had to come out to play. She was the one who knew how to deal with someone like Rodrigo. Stephanie was content to bury her head in the sand and act a coward. Iris was not. Iris would not back down from someone who had tortured her. If she had been acting with a clear head when Rodrigo had locked her in that box years ago, she would have visited the pain on him tenfold. But she hadn't had the opportunity.

She would take it now.

With that thought in mind, she pulled rope out of the bag she had brought with her. A flash of silver got her eye as she debated how to deal with her victims. When she saw the knife a grin came to her face.

/\/\/\/\/\

Ranger was pissed off. He prowled through the villa looking for something—_anyone _to find a way to deal with his anger.

She had promised, he thought angrily. Stephanie had promised not to wander off on her own without any kind of back up. She had admitted it was foolish of her to do so. Yet, here she was, once again, wandering off without backup.

He thought of what Liliana had told his men back in Montana. Tank had told him Liliana described Stephanie and Iris as _"Two very different people inhabiting the same body with no happy middle ground."_

Looking back at what he had seen so far, he had to surmise that Stephanie was completely unaware of the fact that when they were in Trenton, she had merged Iris into herself perfectly. Her ability to run off without backup, and to get into situations that left her in a disadvantage screamed Iris to him—yet, she still managed to control herself. She admitted she had had a hard time when it came to Stiva and Abruzzi. Things had been extremely close to what Rodrigo had done to her by those two men, but she had kept herself in control.

What was it about this mission that seemed to make Stephanie separate herself and allow Iris to come into control? Iris didn't seem to give a dam about her personal safety. Just that of her men.

"Having problems?" Liliana asked as she leaned against a wall watching Ranger pace.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"Probably out fucking with Rodrigo's mind." She answered. When Ranger growled, she shrugged, "I warned you. I told you she was going to be a danger to herself."

"She's going to get herself killed."

"When Stephanie told you Iris is the antithesis to herself, she wasn't joking. There's a pull in Rodrigo's cruelty that makes Iris go to him." Liliana sighed. "Right now, I'm guessing the irrational side of her just wants to fuck with him."

"She told us that was her plan when we were still in Montana." Ranger said through gritted teeth.

"No shit, Sherlock." Liliana snapped. At the glare he gave her she walked forward, "Ranger, you're the only one who's going to be able to help Stephanie find a happy medium. You're watching her go down a road that pulling her off of will be hell if she's not yanked off soon."

Ranger continued to glare at her as he walked to the kitchen and pulled out a beer from the fridge. Standing at the back door, he watched the moon light scenery as he slowly drank the soothing liquid.

Finally, he said, "All the stories you told us in the past made me believe she was more in control of everything than I was."

"Steph is amazing at control." Liliana answered as she joined him at the back window. "After all, none of your men figured out who she was in the years she knew them."

"Yet what I see now…" He let his voice trail off. He wasn't sure he could explain what exactly he was seeing now from the woman he loved.

"What you see now is a woman who walked back into her own hell to face her devil." She sighed. "I have no idea what the docs did for her when she was in lockdown at Benning. I do know she hasn't had to face this in five years."

"She's responding out of anger and fear." He realized and instantly wanted to kick himself for not having seen it sooner. How could he not have seen it? Stephanie used to respond out of fear and anger for a long time before she had begun "training" with his men. Old habits die hard, he thought. She reverted back to what she had developed for herself for a few years. It wasn't something she had trained with, but it was a safety she'd created.

It was something that was going to get her killed if she didn't stop using it as a security blanket. Ranger was damned if he was going to let Stephanie self-destruct all the way.

Both of them looked towards the door as they heard it open and shut. Liliana looked at Ranger and raised an eyebrow. "You ready to go tangle with Iris?"

Not replying, he set his beer bottle down on the counter and walked out of the kitchen. He found Stephanie in the foyer, looking entirely too pleased with herself. "Babe."

When her eyes met his, he knew he was dealing with Iris. "Well, hello, Carlos. Did you wait up for me?"

"You made a promise, Stephanie." He kept his distance from her, standing in the entry way to the hall, while she angled her head to the side and watched him.

"It was a stupid promise for her to make." She smiled coyly. "After all, Rodrigo deserves to suffer for what he's done."

"He can suffer when he's dead."

"He will suffer now!" Her voice rose as she walked slowly toward him.

"What do you gain from it, Stephanie?"

"Satisfaction of knowing he's going to be worse than I was when I get through with him."

"Do you really want to go there?"

"Who are you to dictate to me where I want to go?"

"I'm the man who loves you, Stephanie. I won't watch you destroy yourself."

She gave a sardonic laugh. "Destroy myself? Please, _Carlos_, I'm enjoying myself way too much to destroy myself."

"You're going down a dangerous road, Babe." He said softly. "Don't finish going down it. Turn back now."

"It's a good road to be on," Stephanie replied. She reached a hand out and touched him on the chest, "You should join me."

In a move she wasn't expecting, Ranger had her pinned against the wall. She gasped out. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Before he could give a response, she twisted out of the hold, knocking him backward. Keeping himself from falling, he moved toward her again, blocking a hit she threw at him. Oh yeah, there was a lot of anger there still. Iris was her mask.

Liliana stood in the shadows watching the two leaders spar in the foyer of the villa. Idly she wondered if it would be a good idea to wake Tank, or Bobby or someone who could get between the two of them if needed. Deciding against it she continued to view the battle going on, then realized what exactly Ranger was doing. It would work, she thought, but would it be enough?

Finally having enough, Ranger pinned Stephanie against the wall again, this time pinning her in a position that offered her no way out. She glared at him, her breath coming in sharp pants. He said, "Take a hike, Iris. Give me Stephanie."

She struggled against him, trying to break free, but he simply held tighter until he felt her sag into his arms defeated. "Oh god, Carlos." Her voice was small as she burst into tears.

/\/\/\/\/\

Rodrigo woke with a pounding headache. He did not remember doing anything that would cause his head to hurt. He tried to move his arm, and found himself immobilized. His eyes flew open to see a knife dangling precariously close to his throat. He was tied to his bed and any movement he tried making only made the knife come closer.

"Iris!" He growled. He turned his head and found his bedmate still sleeping. "Wake up!"

His voice was loud and caused her to jump in surprise. She looked at him and herself and gasped. "What happened?"

Like him, he was tied up. Unlike him, she was also covered in head to toe marker, the word TRAITOR written all over her body.

"It appears, my dear, you've been discovered." Rodrigo informed her.

"But, how?" She looked at her body and sniffled.

"If you cry I will hit you." He said, annoyance lacing his voice.

"How?" She demanded indignantly. "You're tied up."

"Keep it up," Rodrigo narrowed his eyes at her. "Let's see how brave you feel when we get out of this and I'm punishing you for your behavior."

Wisely she kept her mouth shut, unaware of the fact that Rodrigo had every intention of fucking her when they got out of this. Seeing what Iris had written all over her body made him want to take her in front of a mirror so she could see the words as he took her from behind.

First, they had to get out of this intricate trap Iris had set them up in.

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><p><strong>Please Review! They make me smile! :-) And they will hopefully help me get going much faster this time! :-)<strong>


	22. Chapter 21

**AN: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews :-) and thank you so much for sticking with me through this. I'm so sorry RL got in the way and took me from writing for awhile. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 21**

Isabelle Perez sighed and rolled her eyes affectionately as she cradled the phone to her ear. "I'm being careful, Mama. You didn't have to send bodyguards."

"Oh, Isa, you know I worry. Humor me, please?" Adele replied.

"What's going on that has you worrying?"

"A mother can't worry for her only child?"

Recognizing her mother's attempt to keep her tone lighthearted, Isabelle sat up straight and narrowed her eyes. "Mama, is Rodrigo trying to hurt you?"

"Rodrigo is not a threat."

"You're lying, Mama."

She heard the exhale from her mother as she sighed. "You're a very smart young woman for sixteen."

Isabelle smiled, "You and Daddy practically raised me to be cautious of Rodrigo and anyone like him. I know he takes other girls and hurts them." She frowned, "Do I have to worry?"

"No, you are not the one he threaten takes."

"He threatens to hurt you." She guessed. That explained the body guards. From what she did know of Rodrigo if he threatened anyone he would use any means necessary to get what he wanted. If he wanted her mother then she would be the one used to get to her.

"I wouldn't worry about me, dear." Adela said after a moment. "I have my own protection. I just want you to focus on your classes and dating. Make friends and meet someone you love."

Unable to stop her laugh, she said, "Mama, all that is good and well, but I shouldn't be kept in the dark on someone like Rodrigo. His name is whispered here in dark corners. Iris is as well. Is it true she's not dead?"

"I couldn't tell you." She said, "But come, tell me about your world right now. I didn't call to bother you with such negativities. Give me some good news."

"I made a new friend, Esmeralda. Her brother is a little older than you. He works in Colombia mostly, but she said he's been talking about moving to Spain for a woman." Isabelle told her, willing to give her mother the joy she needed to hear.

"How did you two meet?"

Hearing surprise in Adela's voice she answered, "Through a group of friends. Rita was trying to hook me up with her friend Dyson, but he's a total tool. He tried to grope me in a movie and Esmeralda hit him and threatened him before he could get very far. She's going to show me self- defense moves her brother made her learn. Apparently he's very protective as well."

"Being able to defend yourself is always a valuable thing. When you come home for break, I'll have someone to help teach you more. It's good to have protective family, but it's even better to be able to defend yourself."

"Mama, you have me worried." Isabella said. "With all the talk of being protected, along with all the body guards you've got watching me, it makes me feel like Rodrigo is a very large threat right now."

"Rodrigo is always a large threat."

"But more so now?"

"It seems his past has come back to wreak vengeance on him and he is not responding well to it."

"Is this where you tell me it's more than I need to know?"

"Yes, dear." Adela replied. Isabella could hear the smile in her voice. It always amazed her mother how perceptive she was. She wanted to tell her daughter that everything would be fine, but knowing Iris and watching the events unfold, Adela knew she couldn't say anything until everything hit its climax and either went to a peaceful place or havoc would reign.

"Mom—"

"I'm going to have to get going, sweetheart," Adela interrupted. "There are guests coming this afternoon and I want to make sure I'm ready for them."

"Okay." Isabella sat on her bed. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Hanging up her phone, she looked at her roommate. "They have no idea we know, Essie."

Esmeralda laughed. "They underestimated us. I can't believe they sent us to the same schools and didn't think we'd meet and find a way to connect them."

"Things are getting bad," Isabella frowned. "Rodrigo is getting uglier. What's your brother say?"

"Fredrick is aloof and uncooperative. I think he's planning to head back to Spain soon. He worries about your mother."

"They should just get married." Isabella sighed and fell back on the bed.

"They really should." Esmeralda agreed. "If we could get around some of these bodyguards maybe we could go help them."

"That sounds great, but I don't want to tangle with Rodrigo. Whatever is going on, I think it's good we're well out of it."

"True, but that one guy—the one with the flaming skull tattoo—he's _soooo _hot." Esmeralda giggled.

"Oh my god," Isabella laughed. "You're terrible!"

"I know. We should go see if we can get him to lighten up."

"Maybe he can help us plot to get my mother and your brother married."

/\/\/\/\/\

It was chaos.

Liliana could only watch with trepidation over the last couple weeks as things escalated between Iris and Rodrigo. It seemed that Rodrigo really didn't care to have been made a fool of. Someone in his house had leaked out that Iris managed to sneak past all his defenses and tie him to his own bed with his companion with knives dangling down that did pose dangerous threats. He had a long gash on his side that he had gotten as he fought his way out of the trap she'd created.

More and more people were showing less fear having heard the story. While it was agreed that it was about time they stood up for themselves, Rodrigo taking action against those that were doing it was the negative. It had come out that Iris was indeed still alive, upon her appearance at a party of a friend of Lady Adela's. Those who found themselves suffering Rodrigo's wrath knew they were being dealt the pain that Iris was supposed to be dealing with.

Both teams watched as each night Stephanie came back from where she was off to and was promptly dragged down to the gym by Ranger who was determined to help her. Having recognized the fear she was masking, he was giving her someone to physically fight. Tank and Braden had been hesitant to even go near the gym when Liliana announced that Ranger had called Stephanie to the mats.

Everyone else had run down, either to watch or be prepared to pull them apart. It amazed all of them to see the two lovers spar as though they were each sparring with one of their own team. It was working. Whatever Stephanie was doing as Iris on her own was lessening and she was taking a partner.

But Liliana knew that Steph and Iris needed something drastic to merge the two, so Steph could accept who she was and stop trying to hide herself away from everything.

One afternoon everyone was sitting down to lunch when Ranger came into the dining room shaking his head, looking slightly amused.

"Carlos?" Steph cocked her head to the side. "What is it?"

"Cal is requesting hazard pay." He replied sitting down and putting a plate of food together for himself. Everyone watched him expectantly. Finally, he continued, "Apparently, Esmeralda and Isabella decided to play matchmaker with Frederick and Adela."

"They're already sleeping together." Reika said confused.

"They feel that they should be married." Ranger replied. "They started out by going to bridal shops to look at dresses for Adela."

Lester snickered, "I just bet Cal loved that."

"Actually, what Cal loved was when Esmeralda came out dressed like a bride, and made him pretend to be the groom. When he explained that he had to watch out for their safety, it was pointed out to him that it would do him good to pretend to be human by playing a groom, where he would—and I quote—see all the potential threats of the guest threatening to hurt his bride."

"I can only see this going downhill." Stephanie giggled.

"It did. Last I heard from him, he was being dragged into a strip club."

"Oh, that's not so bad. He's getting some fun."

"The strip club is for women."

The men shuddered at the idea of watching another man strip, while all the women laughed hysterically.

Wiping her eyes, Stephanie said, "It sounds like something Esmeralda would do. Chances are she's got a crush on him."

"And is going to be a great influence on Isa." Liliana smiled. "If they succeed in getting Adela and Frederick married, I want an invite."

"You and me both." Stephanie agreed.

"Wait, how did they figure out Cal was one of their bodyguards?" Lester asked.

"The flaming skull on his head makes him difficult to miss," Preston said, "Either they thought he was stalking them—"

"In which case, he'd have our sympathies," Dash interrupted.

"—or they probably talked to Frederick and Adela enough to understand they were being more protected than usual."

"We should get those girls when they're old enough." Reika said. "With the right training they could be as scary as Lil and Steph."

"We're not scary." Steph protested.

"We're just enthusiastic about certain avenues of our training." Liliana said.

"Is that what we're calling it?" Bobby asked.

"And we're sticking with it." Steph informed him.

After lunch, Ranger took his team to do recon on different aspects of Rodrigo's business. Stephanie's team took up trailing him, to make sure Ranger would be kept informed if they needed to get out.

Lil and Steph followed him through gardens, their disguises working perfectly. From where they sat, they saw him meet with someone. Both of them wished they had Rodrigo's associate wired so they could find out what was going on. Braden and Preston were close to him making Steph hope they would be able to hear something.

After several minutes the meeting ended, with both men going their separate ways. Before either women could go to Braden and Preston's hiding places, Steph's phone went off.

"What?"

"Steph, you probably ought to head back here." Reika told her.

"What's going on?"

"Something's wrong. Dash and I are the only ones here, but we're sitting outside. When we got back we saw someone leave."

"You didn't go in to check it out?"

"It looked like Brutus." Reika told her.

Stephanie repressed a shudder. Brutus was Rodrigo's head man. If Rodrigo didn't want to do the dirty work himself, he called on Brutus. She had only dealt with Brutus once and it had been one time too many. If he was in their villa for some reason, she didn't want them going in without her there.

"His specialty has always been explosives." Stephanie sighed. "Alright, wait for us to get back. Lil and I can disable them."

She called Braden and told him to keep following Rodrigo with Preston. If Brutus was up to something she didn't want any of them separated from their partners.

"You doing okay, Steph?" Liliana asked on their way back.

"As well as one can be."

"Is it enough?"

"Has it ever been?"

"No." Liliana shook her head. "It never has been, but I can see Ranger is helping you."

"I'm working on it." Steph said quietly.

She was a little amazed at how more in control she felt of herself. It wasn't full control, but she could feel herself piecing herself back together a bit at time every time Ranger called her down to the mats. Had she recognized that Iris was being used as a mask to hide her anger and fear at what had happened to her, she might have asked Ranger to drag her to the mats long before now.

Reaching the villa they walked around to the back where they found Reika and Dash sitting in the lawn waiting for their arrival.

"Did you contact Ranger?" Steph asked them as she stopped to talk to them.

Liliana glanced over her shoulder as she walked past them and into the house.

"No," Reika shook her head. "I thought it would look odd having all of us suddenly race up to the villa to find out what happened."

Steph nodded. "Dash, call him while Lil and I—"

An explosion knocked them off their feet and sent them flying. Stephanie landed in the pool. Swimming frantically back to the surface she broke through gasping for air as she stared at the raging inferno that was their villa.

"Lil!"


	23. Chapter 22

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews for everyone who has reviewed, and for all of you who have kept reading this! It means a lot to me! Not a long chapter, but hopefully you'll enjoy it nonetheless!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Nor do I make any money off them!**

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><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 22**

Adela heard about the fire and quickly sent out one of her most trusted people with the key's to Iris's former home to her. She knew without a doubt Rodrigo had been the one behind the attack on the villa. He was taking things up a notch.

She had watched Iris through social events and knew that instead of just killing Rodrigo as she had claimed her intent to be, she was toying with him. Adela knew he would only go through so much toying before he retaliated. It seemed as though he had reached his limit.

"Selma!" She called as she made her way into her study. A spur of the moment decision came to her, and she booted up her laptop. With things becoming more heated between Iris and Rodrigo's war, she knew there was one safe option. Go to Frederick. He'd keep her safe. Her daughter and his sister were already safe, by her own bodyguards, bodyguards Iris provided, no one was getting to Esmeralda or Isabelle without her or Frederick finding out.

"Yes, ma'am?" Selma appeared at the doorway.

"Good, you're here." She brought up sites to book flights. "How are you feeling? Enrique said you'd been out sick."

"I am better." Selma's voice was quiet.

"You sound hoarse." Adela looked at her and froze. Selma's neck had bruises around it. Her cheek was bruised. Taking in the rest of her appearance, she noticed rope burn on her wrists. Trepidation filled her. "What happened to you?"

"It was necessary, madam."

"What was necessary?"

"Filling me in on your extra activities, Lady Perez." Rodrigo stepped into the room.

"I am a very busy woman, Rodrigo. I have many activities." She felt rooted to the chair. Her heart pumped rapidly. It made her want to reach up and hold down her chest in fear that her heart would burst out of it.

"This particular activity was one you were warned against." He strode forward casually, looking at the décor. "I believe I told you what would happen if you were found to be helping Iris."

"And what makes you think I was helping Iris?"

Rodrigo gave a chuckle. Adela felt ice in her veins at the sound. He looked at Selma. "Your servant has been very helpful."

She looked at Selma. "You agreed to confidentiality when I hired you. How could you break it? Was I not a good employer?"

"It had nothing to do with you." Selma defended.

"As you know," Rodrigo caressed Selma's cheek with a finger, "Selma's brother is in politics. Roberto will have a great career since Selma has been very helpful to me."

"I could have helped you, Selma, if you had come to me."

Her servant's eyes flashed in anger. "Not against Rodrigo you couldn't! No one can."

"Now, Adela," Rodrigo came to stand in front of her desk. He turned her laptop before she could stop him. "Planning a trip are we? I don't think that' necessary. I have one prepared for you already."

"I am capable of planning my own trips."

"This is not one you have a choice about." He punched a couple keys on the keyboard. Turning it around Adela found herself looking at a video of a school room. "Do you recognize that window? I'm sure you do. In a couple moments you'll see your daughter walk into the room. While my men can't physically touch her, I do have a sniper waiting for orders to kill her if you do not come with me."

"I…"

"What will it be, Lady? Iris or Isabelle?"

Adele closed her eyes, and swallowed. As she rose from her seat, all she could think was, _forgive me, Iris._

/\/\/\/\/\

Reggie stood outside the office, unmoving, listening as the voice inside confirmed his suspicions.

He had always known Stephanie would leave the career they put her in. She had sacrificed years for her country and to keep her father safe. He had been proud of the woman she became, as much as any parent could be. She had always been like a daughter to him, so when he heard that someone had betrayed her, he set out to find out who it was.

It hadn't been hard, he discovered. Of all the generals who had been angry at her departure, Anders had been the most furious. Cruise had been like himself, understanding. They had could see the toll the missions had taken on her, and the damage Rodrigo had inflicted. Anders, on the other hand, had been determined to keep her.

During her recovery Anders had pushed her to sign a new contract. Stephanie held her ground refusing to do so. He had even threatened her family, but that had ended with guards pulling her off him. Cruise told him to never threaten someone she loved. They had been the ones to train her, but that didn't mean they could be the ones to stop her.

Now, Reggie looked to the other side of the door where Cruise stood listening also, it seemed that Anders had found the one way to make Stephanie come back. He had found someone who could give Rodrigo information on the woman he claimed still lived.

"You can confirm she's dead?" Anders was saying. "Damn it. She'd been pretty instrumental in bringing Iris back into the fold. How the hell are we supposed to keep her now?"

Reggie and Cruise nodded at one another, then nodded at the MPs. The phones were tapped getting all the information they needed. Anders was going down.

Stephanie would be safe once this mission was over.

/\/\/\/\/\

Liliana was gone.

Stephanie sat on the grass as the firemen worked frantically to control the rage of the flames. She stared at the burning villa, covered in dirt, numbness filling her. The moment she had gotten out of the pool, she had raced into the villa searching for Liliana, only to find her weapons with a body that had burned up beyond recognition. She had only been able to surmise that Liliana was next to the origin of the bomb that took out their house.

Dash had run in behind her and forcibly dragged her out when it didn't look like she was going to get herself out. The firemen had already been called, he had yelled, Rika was in the process of calling the rest of their men.

Rika and Dash stood a few feet behind her surveying the scene before them. The first drops of a storm hit them before it began coming in waves, helping to drive down the vicious fire.

Feeling the rain drops streak down her cheeks, Stephanie could only continue to stare forward. As Iris, she had been magnificent at causing explosions. As Stephanie, she could only attribute it to sheer dumb luck. She had always said, as a bounty hunter, it was never her fault. But as the leader of her team?

It had been entirely her fault.

Dash sat next to her. "You know, Lil never saw herself dying any other way."

"She always saw herself dying in an exploding building?" Stephanie retorted in a monotone voice.

"Dying on the job. It was what she knew. It's what all of us know, including you." He replied. "It hurts, Steph, but you know as well as I, she wouldn't want it any other way."

"She should have waited until I caught up with her."

"Liliana did what had to be done to make sure the job got done."

"At what cost?" She asked when she saw Ranger, Bobby, Lester and Tank race around the side of the house to see them. Her gaze locked on Bobby coming toward them. Dash's gaze followed hers.

"Whatever the cost was."

Bobby saw them and looked around for Liliana. He knew she and Stephanie had left together. He looked back at Stephanie, who moved her gaze back to the inferno then faced him again.

Slowly, Bobby turned and faced the demon that had swallowed up the woman he loved.

Stephanie's heart broke at the sight of Bobby going to his knees.


	24. Chapter 23

**AN: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, and for those who have asked if I'm continuing this story! Rest assured, it will be finished. I think there are only 2 more chapters left after this :-)**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money, just playing with the characters you know and love!**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 23**

"Babe." Ranger sighed when he walked into their bedroom and found her in the same spot she had been in when he'd left hours ago: standing at the window watching the storm outside continue to rage.

The weather had been unpleasant from the moment they'd found out about Liliana four days ago. Everyone had moved to the villa that Adele had saved for them. It hadn't been difficult to get back up equipment, especially some new high tech gear that had Reika cooing over the way some women coo over new shoes.

Stephanie had been unreachable. Ranger had gone so far as to drag her down to the gym and try to bully some kind of reaction out of her, which he regretted ten minutes later when she had him flat on his back with a move he had never seen coming. He knew she was hurting. Her second had been taken in an attack designed for her by the man who had done a psychological number on her.

He had wisely chosen to let her work through it on her own. She had wanted them to work together for this mission. They were both leaders, and together they could demonstrate a unique strength that had all their people falling in line. Right now half his strength was raging an internal war with herself combined with grief.

Ranger had done what he had done countless times before Stephanie ever came into his life. He took control of everything else. They were currently coming together with a battle plan to take Rodrigo out. As much as he knew Stephanie wanted to be a part of this takedown, he had a feeling she might not be up to the task.

Stephanie couldn't stop staring at the maelstrom of wind, rain and lightning. It matched the one warring insider herself. Not only had her desire to pay Rodrigo with retribution gotten Liliana killed, but now something else was amiss. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew she had to figure it out.

"Babe." Ranger's arms circled her. They had always given her comfort, even now, but the idea that he could be killed because of her failure to do her job made her tense. Unfortunately, he saw right through her, whether she liked it or not. "Don't, Stephanie. You're not going to get the chance to push me away."

"You don't have a say in it."

He turned her to face him, keeping her trapped in his arms. "Yeah, I do. We both spent too much time dancing around one another wasting time. Valuable time. I'm not letting either of us walk away."

"Even if I get you killed?"

"What if I get you killed?"

"You would never get me killed." She said with bitterness towards herself. "You're too good to do that."

And there it was. She wasn't scared of their relationship, or even of him. She was scared that she would do to him what happened to Lil.

"Stephanie, listen to me." He cupped her cheek with one hand, raising her chin so she was looking at him. "Rodrigo is responsible for Lil's death."

"She wouldn't be dead if I had done my job from the beginning." Stephanie shot back.

"So instead of sitting up here feeling sorry for yourself why don't you do your job?" He demanded.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Carlos." Her voice was soft, as though she were still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he had been more blunt with her than he had ever been.

"Babe, I love you, and you know that. It kills me to see you up here hiding from all of us and hiding from doing your job. We've all lost good men and women on missions before. I can't sit by and let you assume you're going to get us all killed. Quite frankly, the one who be killed would be you because you kept leaving on your own to fuck with Rodrigo's mind." His grip tightened on her. "We need you to be the leader you are, Babe. You said you wanted to partner with me on this, not be above me or vice versa. The last few days I've had to take over planning because you don't want to face everything. You're the only one who is capable of getting close to Rodrigo to get things done. It's time to end this so we can go home. So you and Bobby can both grieve."

"Oh god, Bobby." Stephanie's eyes filled with tears are she thought of her friend who was grieving more than her. And no doubt was continuing to do his job. She sighed and dropped her head against Ranger's shoulder. The moment both his arms were around her tightly again she broke into sobs.

He held her to him while she cried. He hated to be harsh with her, but knew that this was one of those moments where he had to be.

"You're right," She said finally pulling back, "it's time to end this for once and for all."

There was new life in her eyes. He smiled as he realized Iris and Stephanie had melded into one strong Stephanie. "Good to see you there, Babe."

She smiled and walked to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. After wiping her face on a towel she walked back out and said, "Let's do this, Carlos. I want to go home."

When they walked into the room, everyone stopped and stared at them. Stephanie's eyes fell on Dash. She narrowed them, something about him was off, and she couldn't figure out what it was.

"We've got a man to take down." Stephanie said, wasting no time. "It's time to do it."

"Past time if you ask me." Bobby muttered near her.

She turned and faced him. "Yes. Yes it is."

His eyes met hers and he saw she took the blame for Lil's death. Part of him wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault, but the grieving part of him looked at her and saw the reason Lil was gone. He would have liked to lash out at her, regardless of what Ranger could threaten to do to him. He would never have the chance to have a life with Lil now. Irrationally he blamed Steph, despite knowing Rodrigo was to blame.

"So, why don't we take care of him," Stephanie suggested stepping up to Bobby, "and when we go home you can take me to the mats all you want."

His lips curled upward. "I'm grieving, not stupid. You'll wipe the floor with me."

"Then let's just kill the bastard."

Bobby nodded. Reika bounced on her toes. "Yes! We finally get to play with all our new toys!"

Stephanie couldn't stop the chuckle at Reika's joy. "Just remember: he's my kill."

"Take all the fun!" Dash gave a mock pout.

"Guys," Lester entered the room with someone following behind him. "This is Roberto, he's—"

"Head of Adela's house." Stephanie finished. "What can we do for you?"

"My lady has been taken." He informed her. He was shaking and everyone could almost smell the fear on him.

"Rodrigo." None of them had to really guess who was making Roberto so scared. It didn't take a lot. When he nodded, Preston asked, "When?"

"She left four days ago."

"Was he with her?"

"Yes."

"And you waited four days before coming to find someone to help?" Braden demanded.

"Please," Roberto wiped a hand across the back of his neck. "We…he's had men watching us. It was very difficult to escape without being caught. We fear he will kill us."

"Alright." Stephanie said. "Thank you for coming to us. Preston, help him get safely back to Adela's home."

"What are you planning?" Tank asked.

"I'm planning to kick his ass."

/\/\/\/\/\

Adela whimpered as the shooting pain in her wrist intensified. Rodrigo had not lied when he said he would make her pay for her 'deceit'. Even through all the beatings she took, she couldn't find it in herself to regret anything. If Iris could take him out so everyone could have a chance at living without Rodrigo's insufferable weight on them then she'd do it all over again.

She counted herself lucky. He hadn't raped her...yet. She knew it would come. He was too busy enjoying Selma to use her. But like all the other women he'd had Adela knew Selma was expendable and then it would be her turn.

Struggling to her feet she staggered along the damp lower level of Rodrigo's fortress. She wanted to find a way out, to save herself and be as strong as Iris, but even Iris had run from the mad man.

The orange glow from the lamps across the room was the only company she had as she looked up at window to see the soft moon make its way across the sky.

The door opened and Rodrigo strolled into the room looking relaxed. No doubt Selma had been instrumental to his current state.

"Adela, what are you doing?" He looked at her amused. "You don't honestly believe you'll escape, do you?"

"I have a child to go back to." She said bravely.

"And you will, but not until after you've learned your place."

"You're awfully fond of putting people in their places, Rodrigo." A cool voice said from the shadows. "I think it's probably time someone showed you your place."

Adela gasped as Iris stepped out of the shadows, looking dangerous and deadly. Head to toe in black, black vest, black pants, black boots, she looked ready to kill. Adela was certain that that was Iris's intent. Iris kicked the door shut and locked it, barring an exit for any of them.

Rodrigo grinned in triumph. He had gotten her back. "I know my place, Iris. It's time to learn yours."

"You're all talk." She taunted walking closer.

"Iris, I'm sorry—" Adela stopped at the shake of Iris's head. She knew she would have to wait to talk to her friend until this battle was over.

"Tell me, how did you get in? This is a very secure place." Rodrigo asked idly, leaning against a pillar that had helped hold the foundation for decades.

"It's not that secure."

"I know you Iris, you wouldn't have had much trouble."

"Oh, Rodrigo, you don't know me at all."

"No? Tell me, Stephanie Plum, who are you?" He chuckled. Pushing himself off the pillar he stalked toward her. Adela was surprised by the revelation but couldn't tear her eyes away from the confrontation. The two of them were circling one another, stalking each other like they were prey.

"I've got connections everywhere, including your precious government." He continued, "One general in particular was very keen to bring you back to me. I must admit I was appalled by the little town you chose to live in. And your lifestyle. Very beneath you. Your life is meant to be one of submission, not one of garbage."

Stephanie resisted laughing at him. She knew it was General Anders, and the only reason he wanted her back was so he could continue to control her. Rodrigo had been played by the general.

"Of course the young woman helping him had to die. Just like you will." Rodrigo stepped closer. "But you won't physically die for a long, long time. You'll be mine until I'm done with you, and I assure you, I won't tire of you. I broke you once. I will break you again."

"Rodrigo, the thing you don't seem to understand," She leaned in to him and spoke softly, "You know nothing of what I'm capable of." She didn't hesitate to ram her fist into his face.

Adela watching in fascinated horror as they fought in front of her. Using a pillar to shield her from the fight, she saw for the first time that she truly didn't know Iris—or Stephanie, if that was who she was. They moved across the floor, both working on gaining the upper hand. If Adela knew anything about fighting, which she really didn't, she would have to guess that Iris was playing with Rodrigo. She didn't look tired at all.

"Is that the best you've got, Rodrigo?" Stephanie laughed, "I expected better. I hardly feel like I'm being taught any lessons here."

With a roar of rage erupting from his throat like a war cry, their dance continued, this time neither of them holding back. Stephanie had known this was what the fight would come down to, the use of their physical bodies. Rodrigo rarely used weapons when he was truly angry. She could count on the fact that he couldn't leave this room without her getting to him.

Adela muffled her gasp of shock when Iris and Rodrigo both turned toward each other at the same time holding a gun to each other's hearts.

/\/\/\/\/\

Ranger and the rest of the team worked to secure the area. They had known Stephanie would go in first. He hadn't liked the idea, but knew she was the best chance to get Rodrigo alone. They worked their way through the house looking for any other guards.

Finally making their way to the lower part of the house, they came to a locked door. Ranger leaned close to it and heard the sounds of fighting. "She's in there. We need to get in." He pushed the door hard. "Damn."

As he dropped to his knees to work on the lock, the unmistakable sound of gunshots went off.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! It means a lot to me that so many of you are still with me! There's one more chapter after this :-)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own them, don't make money off them. I'm just playing!**

* * *

><p><strong>Masquerade<strong>

**Chapter 24**

Ranger was shoved aside by Tank who dropped to his knees and hurriedly worked to pick the lock of the door. They saw the shock on Ranger's normally stoic face. Everything Rodrigo had put Stephanie through had raced through his mind. She had locked herself in a room with her target and tormentor. After all that had happened it boiled down to a gun.

"Ranger, man, we're in." Dash said as he and Tank shoved the door open.

Everyone burst into the room to find two bodies on the ground. Rodrigo lay on the far side of the room, blood pooling under the no longer sadist. Ranger was looking at Stephanie who was also laying on the ground. Adela was kneeling down, with Stephanie's head in her lap. Ranger didn't hesitate to run over to her.

Dropping to his knees he let out a hoarse, "Babe."

Adela looked up at the dark man in front of her. There was something terribly intimidating about him, but after her dealing with Rodrigo she was feeling less fear than she might have normally. "She hit her head, when she fell. I thought she should have bled when she was shot..."

Ranger glanced at her, the blank face masking the confusion of what Adela was saying. His attention turned back to Stephanie. There was no blood on her, yet she wasn't conscious. He looked her over trying to find the source. There were plenty of bruises from fighting.

He almost jumped when her eyes flew open. Relief flooded him. "Babe."

"Shit." She wheezed out. "Reika was right. These vests are the shit."

Ranger looked at her top and felt his heart stop. There, just below her left breast, was a lodged bullet. It had been stopped by one of the new top of the line bullet proof vests General Reginald had sent them. They were designed to look like regular clothes, enabling those on missions to be more protected when they needed to blend with their surroundings. Ranger hadn't thought about what Steph was specifically wearing when she left. She had left before the rest of them knowing she would get to Rodrigo the quickest.

"Babe." He grinned.

Adela raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't really have a one word vocabulary do you?"

Stephanie laughed as she sat up. "He says a lot with one word. How are you? How badly did he hurt you?"

"He did not hurt me as badly as he has hurt others." Adela replied. "I'll live. I'm thankful he didn't get my daughter. Now, Stephanie Plum?"

Everyone in the room froze. Stephanie looked Adela over, trying to decide what to tell her. Adela saved her by continuing, "Many people feared Rodrigo. I know many governments who were unable to get rid of his influence. Whoever sent you was very smart. Your secret is safe with me. I will not tell anyone."

"Thank you."

She shook her head. "We owe you thanks. You've put the devil back in hell."

"I appreciate your discretion, Adela," Stephanie said.

Adela smiled and said, "I would really like to leave now. I would love to talk to you more, but in a more comfortable setting. Plus I need to call my daughter. I want to make sure she is still safe."

"Of course."

"Babe." Ranger helped her stand then pulled her close, breathing her in. He felt the tension leave his body knowing she was alright. In her ear he whispered, "Go with Adela. Take her back to our villa. The rest of us will finish up here."

She nodded, and turned to Adela. She was staring at the couple with a raised eyebrow. "Still with the one word." Stephanie laughed as she led her friend out of the cellar. The men heard Adela continue, "He is really quite good looking though."

"Adela, I don't share well." The men snickered at Stephanie's response.

/\/\/\/\/\

Stephanie smiled as she watched Adela placate her daughter. She had been on the phone for the last hour trying to reassure her daughter that she was alive and unharmed. From what Stephanie could see Adela had indeed fared much better than any of Rodrigo's other victims, herself included. Stephanie was already feeling the effects from her fight with the now dead man. Despite her pain, she felt relief. Relief that she no longer had the subconscious need to look over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being stalked. She didn't known yet if she would have nightmares, but if she did she knew Ranger would be there to help her. They had come a long way during this mission.

"Well, now that I've convinced her not to come flying back, I can take a moment to breathe." Adela sat down across from her. She took a long look at Stephanie. "Will you tell me about yourself?"

Hesitating briefly, Stephanie said, "It's probably best if you don't know."

"Stephanie, it is your choice to keep your secrets to yourself, but Rodrigo ousted you in front of me. On top of that there's Frederick, who we both know can find out for me."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Stephanie raised her eyebrows.

"I am trying to know the woman who set so many people free." Adela answered sincerely. "Why did you disappear the first time? Why couldn't you kill him then? Why wait so long?"

"You don't hold back do you?" She took a deep breath and looked at Adela for a moment. The truth was she had honestly missed this woman. Of all the missions she had ever done, there was a very small number of people she genuinely liked and had missed. One was Frederick, though he was still in hot water for his treatment of Ranger, and the other was Adela. Something in her gut told her she could trust Adela.

So she began her tale. She left out a large amount, such as her beginning into the world of undercover weapon, but focused mostly on her first attempt at Rodrigo. Adela listened intently, her face schooled into a blank expression that would have made Ranger proud. Stephanie found it therapeutic to open up to Adela.

When she finished, Adela reached over and grabbed one of her hands. She squeezed it comfortingly. "You've been through Hell, and all I can do is thank you for saving me, saving so many others, and telling me your story."

Before Stephanie could say anything Frederick burst into the room. The normally calm man scanned the room desperately before his eyes settled on the woman he loved. In quick strides he had Adela in his arms. Cupping her face in his hands he asked, "Are you alright?"

She melted into his arms, forgetting about Stephanie and savoring the warmth and comfort Frederick's arms provided her. She had always felt safe in his arms and was very glad to be there now. They both knew when it was just the two of them she would finally break down, but Frederick knew that wouldn't be until it was night and they were tucked away in bed. Those were the moments when Adela felt safe enough to let her guard down.

"Yes," She murmured softly, "Iris saved me. We are free, Frederick. Finally _free."_

Knowing what she meant his wrapped his arms around her, looking at Stephanie. "Thank you."

/\/\/\/\/\

"Are you alright?" Ranger whispered into her ear that night. She was cocooned in his arms. The moonlight spilling into the room enabled her to seen him clearly, but she didn't need light to see how concerned he was about her. After all, she had gone up against her devil knowing one of them would die.

"I'm relieved," Steph answered honestly. "I don't feel burdened by the ghost of his presence any longer."

"I wish you hadn't locked the door."

"I'm sorry, I just had to make sure he didn't escape. It was foolish of me because Adela was still in there. I barred her escape too." She had apologized to him for that move several times since they had come back to the villa.

Stephanie had been waiting for them, enjoying the moments of quiet after Frederick had whisked Adela to her main villa. Partly to have time to themselves and partly because Adela had a traitorous servant to deal with. When they had left Stephanie had heard Adela debating punishments for Selma, knowing what a difficult position the young girl had been in.

When everyone had returned Bobby had taken a look at all the wounds they had obtained, Stephanie being the most injured, the majority of it being bruises. Rodrigo wouldn't do his worst to her until he had shown her who the superior person was. She was glad that she had never shown him what she was capable of until that last fight. The element of surprise had definitely been on her side.

The local news reported a massive fire on Rodrigo's estate. As of now, there were no survivors. Rodrigo's body had been discovered in the ashes. You could feel the collective sigh of relief the city gave at that news. Even from their villa the team felt the lighter atmosphere take over. Right now the fire was being ruled as Rodrigo's cause of death, but those who knew him well would speculate that someone had finally gotten the drop on him. Adela and Frederick knew the truth, and it would stay with them. No one would hear from their lips the truth of the night.

Oh, there would be rumors of course. There always were when it came to something like this. The biggest rumor that would float around for years would be that Iris had finally come back to destroy Rodrigo. But that would only be a rumor, because Iris was dead.

"I want to go home." She murmured burying her face in his neck.

"So do I, babe."

The next morning they flew out of Spain and headed back to U.S. Soil. The flight was uneventful and they spent most of their time resting, or silently grieving for the partner they had lost. Stephanie found herself staring out a window, her mind working rapidly. Something Dash had said to her kept repeating itself over and over. _"Liliana did what had to be done to make sure the job got done."_

What did that mean, she wondered. No, she realized she didn't have to wonder. She knew exactly what Lil had been up to. And damn, if it hadn't worked. Stephanie had to give her friend kudos for doing what she did. Steph had been so focused on tormenting Rodrigo in return for all the pain he had put her through, she never caught on to Lil's planning. Clever bitch, she thought with an inner smile.

/\/\/\/\/\

After they landed they were taken to Ft. Benning. They were separated to be debriefed. Ranger with his men and Steph with her team. Over the next few days, things had been brutal for all them, the paperwork annoying, and tempers were running on a short fuse.

Ranger and Tank sat down after one tediously long meeting to eat a short lunch. Tank couldn't stop grinning at his boss and friend. "Steph's gonna be pretty surprised by this."

"It's time man. Like you said last year, we're getting older." Ranger replied. "It's time to focus on only RangeMan."

"What if Steph decides to come back into this?"

"She won't." Ranger was certain of that. One thing they had talked about before landing was the possibility. If nothing else this particular trip had reinforced her desire to leave this world behind.

"Ah, Ranger, just the man I was looking for." Reginald came over. "I have a note from Stephanie for you."

"Bomber's gone?" Tank asked in surprise.

"She left a couple days ago." Reginald replied.

Ranger didn't say anything, just simply opened the note.

_Carlos,_

_I'm coming home. I promise. There's something I have to do first. I'll see you in Trenton._

_Love,_

_Stephanie_

Over the next two days, Ranger wondered what Stephanie had to do. When he walked into the control room with Lester, Bobby and Tank right behind him, Hal looked up from the monitors and smiled. "Hey, Boss."

"Report."

"Nothing to report. Everything ran smoothly. Mr. and Mrs. Plum have had a guard on them the entire time. Just let us know when to pull them."

"Man!" Cal exclaimed walking into the control room, "You should see them go! It's freaking awesome! Who knew Bombshell could move like that?" He stopped when he saw Ranger. "Welcome back, Boss."

"Where is Stephanie?" He demanded.

"Oh, they're in the gym sparring. They've been in there for a few hours."

_They?_

Ranger, Tank, Lester and Bobby all looked at each other before heading to the gym. They walked through the doors and froze at the sight before them.


	26. Epilogue

**Masquerade**

**Epilogue**

She hit the mat with an "Oomph!" and groaned as she rolled onto her back. She wasn't surprised by the ass kicking she was being handed right now. She was a little surprised by the relentlessness of it. She had assumed there'd be anger, but this was new. This was a strength she hadn't seen before. Oh, physically her sparring partner was still as strong as she had been, but there was a new strength of mentality.

Her plan had worked.

And now, she was having her ass handed to her while Reika and Braden stood by the mats waiting their turn.

"Come on, Lil, I'm not finished yet." Stephanie growled, waiting for her to get to her feet.

Slowly, she stood. She met Stephanie's look and said, "I'm not sorry."

"I know you're not." She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to swing at Lil again. The moment she had found her friend at the house in Montana she had wasted no time hauling her back to RangeMan. She was furious.

"What the fuck?" Lester's disbelief echoed across the gym. Both women turned and saw the four men standing there. Stephanie had already known Ranger was in the room. The back of her neck tingled the moment the door opened.

"Go ahead, Lil, tell them what you told me. Explain it to _Bobby_."

Reika and Braden traded guilty looks as Lil limped off the mat and grabbed a towel to press to her bleeding lip. She looked at Bobby as he came over. His eyes swept her body, looking at the injuries that had been Stephanie-inflicted and reassuring himself that she was indeed alive.

He reached out and touched her chin, raising her eyes to meet his. "Why?" The pain in his eyes nearly broke her.

Blinking back tears, she replied, "What Ranger was doing to help Stephanie was great and ultimately would have helped her, but it was time consuming. Rodrigo's antics were increasing. We didn't have the time it would have taken Ranger to help Steph. Something had to be done immediately."

"So you faked your death." Lester said. "They found a body."

Reika spoke up. "One of Reggie's men found a leak here in the states. A woman named Maria lived here in Trenton at Anders' command. She was in touch with Rodrigo as well because Anders betrayed Steph to him. He was desperate to bring her back and figured by giving her to Rodrigo it would be a way to drag her back or destroy her for walking away. Maria was giving him information on Stephanie. It was how he found out she was still alive and managed to blow her cover. Rodrigo wanted Maria to go to Spain. Reggie intercepted the call and let us know. While Steph was out toying with Rodrigo we took care of Maria."

"You used a shock-treatment to snap Stephanie out of it." Bobby said. "It was a good plan. Why didn't you talk to us, or use Ranger?"

"We wanted to shock her out of it, not destroy her." Liliana said. "Using Ranger would have broken her in ways we couldn't imagine."

Ranger looked at his woman. "How did you figure out she was still alive?"

"Dash." She answered. "Something he said kept bothering me. After all the debriefing I went through, I knew I had to go to Montana. Lo and behold, what do I find when I walk into the house? Liliana singing _Hips Don't Lie_ while she cleans."

"Needless to say, she wasted no time kicking my ass." Liliana said gingerly touching her side. "Damn it, Plum, I think you broke a rib."

"Oh I did not." Stephanie waved a hand dismissively. "It's not like you didn't have it coming."

"You'll thank me for it someday."

"Yeah, I will." She raised her eyebrows, "But it's not someday and I'm still pissed."

Lil sighed and looked back at Bobby. Her plan had been good, but the ache it caused her to hurt him was still there. It had been a huge risk for her to take, but she knew she had to take it, no matter what the personal cost for her was. The look on his face was enough to tell her that things would not go back to normal for them.

"I'm sure Reggie needs me at Bragg." She said, shifting from foot to foot. "I should get out there."

"You're not going anywhere." Bobby said.

"I'm not?"

"No. You're going to my apartment so I can doctor your wounds and we are going to have a very long talk." He informed her.

"Oh…I…really?" She was rarely speechless but the hope that suddenly blossomed in her chest made her want to dance around like a giddy child. He nodded and took her by the wrist, leading her out of the gym

"Why are you two here?" Tank asked Reika and Braden.

"Steph figured out we were in on it and told us to get our asses here so she could deal with us." Braden sighed. "I didn't realize she was planning to spend most of the day kicking Lil's ass then turn around and kick ours."

"Don't think I'm not going to." Stephanie said taking a step toward them.

Ranger caught her wrist. "Babe, take a break. You can kick their asses tomorrow." He looked at Reika and Braden. "Consider yourselves on lockdown here."

"You're not our boss. We can get out of here, you know." Reika raised her chin defiantly ready to challenge him.

Lester wandered over. He understood what their plan had been, and while he felt for his buddy and the pain he'd gone through, he was glad to see Lil was alive. He leaned down and whispered in Reika's ear, "You know, there are some definite advantages to being on lockdown—in my apartment."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You know, never mind, Ranger. Lockdown sounds terrific. So, tell me Lester, where's your apartment? You've got handcuffs right? I might need to be restrained…" Her voice trailed off as they left the gym.

Braden shook his head. "Great, she's gonna have sex all night. What the hell am I going to do?"

"I can kick your ass." Stephanie offered.

"Babe."

"Fine. You could talk to Hal about cars. He likes restoring vintage cars." She told him. Turning to her man she leaned up and whispered in his ear, "I really want to jump you and ride you all day and night, but I should shower and go see my mom. I want to check on her, especially after Rodrigo tried to get ahold of her."

He kissed her and murmured in her ear, "Don't worry you can ride me once you get home."

/\/\/\/\/\

Stephanie walked into her parents' home, surprised to not find her mother standing out on the porch with her grandmother. Instead she found her parents cuddling together on the couch. She smiled. "Hi. I'm home."

"Stephanie!" Helen cried and bolted out of Frank's arms and took her youngest child in hers. She hugged her tightly, surprising them both, then held her at arms' length to get a good look at her. She touched Stephanie's curls. "You cut your hair. It looks good like that. Are you hurt?"

"Eh, just bruises mostly." She answered. "You should see the other guy."

"Are you going to continue doing this?" Helen asked wringing her hands together. "I just..."

Shaking her head, she said, "No. I agreed to do this one for various reasons, but it was made so they couldn't call me back for anything."

"I'm so glad." Helen's body sagged with relief. Knowing her daughter the way she did, Helen knew though, that had she chosen to continue, she would have supported Stephanie one hundred percent.

"Did the man hurt you?" Stephanie asked this time.

"No, no." Helen shook her head. "He scared me, but Joseph was there and stopped him."

"I'm glad he didn't get you." She looked over at her father. "Daddy, I'm so—"

"Pumpkin, you don't have anything to apologize for." Frank took his daughter in his arms. "You did what you had to. You worked a dangerous job and made enemies. Just like I did. I appreciate Ranger doing everything he could to help keep us secure while you did your job."

"Speaking of Carlos," Helen spoke up. Stephanie couldn't help but smile. Helen refused to call him anything other than Carlos once she started a relationship with him. "Will you two be able to come to dinner soon? I've been working on some Cuban recipes and would love his opinion on them."

"I'm sure he'd love to come to dinner. I'll check with him and let you know when we're available."

Helen nodded. "Of course. Will you stay for lunch? I made a Greek salad."

"Greek?" Stephanie looked at Frank as her mother walked off.

"The attempted kidnapping spooked her." He said, "She's been doing world cuisines since. Not that I'm complaining." He patted his stomach.

"Hm, I've got some recipes I can bring over and make with her." Stephanie said as they walked to the dining room.

"I would love that!" Helen exclaimed from behind them. Stephanie jumped and turned around with a hand pressed to her chest. Her mother chuckled. "Really, Stephanie, with as trained as you are, I should not be able to scare you like that."

"Need to be more aware of your surroundings, kiddo." Frank winked at her, sitting at the table.

Stephanie burst out laughing. They enjoyed their lunch, where she mostly listened as her parents caught her up on the happenings of Trenton. Afterward, she headed over to the police station to thank Joe. Their reunion was brief and friendly. Joe seemed to be aware that whatever Stephanie had been up to was classified and she wouldn't talk about it, nor did he try and press her to. He was just glad to see his friend back in one piece.

As Stephanie drove back to RangeMan a grin appeared on her face.

/\/\/\/\/\

Ranger closed down his computer and sat back. He arranged it so Hal would continue to oversee operations while the core team took a much needed break. Ranger spent most of the day on the phone with Reggie. He found out that Stephanie's team were now free agents to do as they pleased. He had extended job offers to most of them. Lil and Reika were going to wait until the next day because he had no desire to see Reika handcuffed as he knew Lester would be prone to do, nor was he going to interrupt the conversation Lil was having with Bobby.

Once he was done with those conversations the next day they would all be on a small vacation, Stephanie included. He hoped to convince her to go with him down to Miami. He wanted to see Julie, especially after seeing evidence of Rodrigo's treatment of people's children. Logically he knew she was safe since he had made sure she had a RangeMan detail watching her, but he had to see for himself.

Hitting his fob for seven he wondered where Stephanie was. He had thought she would let him know she was back, but he hadn't heard from her. Things could have been taking longer with her parents than she thought. He would call Ella for a good meal for the two of them.

Entering his apartment, all plans went out the window as he took in the scene before him. Candles were lit across the way, illuminating the walls in a soft orange glow. Music pulsed throughout the apartment.

In the center of the living room was Stephanie dressed as a belly dancer moving to the music. Her eyes met his and she held his gaze as she continued dancing.

With a sultry grin, she said, "Have I told you about the time I had to be a belly dancer?"

_The End_

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you everyone for your support on this story. It means the world to me that you followed along and gave me such wonderful reviews :-) I hope you enjoyed the final chapter. <strong>


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